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TPKP 148: TJ Dimacali | Keeping Up with PINOY POP CULTURE and SCIENCE
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SUPPORT TPKP VIA THESE LINKS: https://linktr.ee/komiksman Science writer and communicator, TJ Dimacali drops by the ...
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00:00.0
Let's see.
00:02.0
Alright, we are now on Facebook!
00:05.0
Yeah!
00:06.0
Yo!
00:07.0
This is the Powerful Comics Man podcast and
00:10.0
this is an earlier-than-usual stream.
00:14.0
And I am very, very honored to be graced upon
00:21.0
this guest na, I mean,
00:24.0
I met him before the pandemic, diba?
00:29.0
Tapos, I've been wanting to have him on
00:32.0
and now is the day na nangyari yun.
00:36.0
Okay, so we're gonna be talking about science
00:41.0
and a whole lot of other stuff, geek stuff and more.
00:45.0
Okay?
00:46.0
So, mag-OBB na muna tayo and then
00:49.0
para we can get this party started.
00:52.0
I am with the Powerful T.J. Dimakali.
01:22.0
Powerful T.J. Dimakali
01:52.0
Welcome to the Powerful Comics Man Podcast!
02:03.4
Okay, so like I said, this is an earlier than usual podcast stream and I am with a friend that I met online and then...
02:15.5
hindi, nauna pala yung ano no, nauna pala yung... I met in a workshop, workshop yun no?
02:22.2
Yeah, workshop.
02:22.9
It was a workshop before the pandemic and I actually talked to him before about inviting him on the podcast and life happened.
02:34.9
Mga ilang, dalawang, more than two years ang ginakausada ng COVID na yan and the lockdowns but finally here he is.
02:45.2
The Powerful T.J. D. Makali.
02:48.0
Alright.
02:49.0
Hello, hello. Thanks for having me.
02:51.6
Yes. Okay, so yun, I met T.J. in a science...
03:00.1
hindi, actually ano yun eh, parang translating...
03:02.4
Yeah, translation workshop.
03:03.7
Translation workshop of science documents, di ba?
03:06.8
Yes, yes. Basically, that was an effort to translate basic write-ups on astronomy for Philippine audiences, yeah.
03:19.8
Which was very challenging, no?
03:21.5
It was, it was.
03:22.4
It was very challenging, parang kasi ako sabit lang ako dun.
03:27.0
Di ba, parang wala naman akong credentials to be there but yung kawan-friend natin, si Julius Sempio, parang sige, sama ka, sama ka.
03:35.6
But, I mean, it's something that we, I personally would like to see more people engaged in kasi as far as translation of science is concerned, it's still a wide open field sa atin.
03:49.5
So, please tell us what you do really kasi dun sa profile mo, I saw parang, I saw your diploma, parang science news yung from MIT, okay, di ba?
04:04.7
So, from MIT, science news degree, or?
04:08.8
It's science writing.
04:10.8
Ah, science writing, okay. So, what, can you explain that?
04:15.9
Well, generally speaking, I like to be called a science communicator.
04:20.0
I am, I'm still a science journalist in as much as I write news about science in the Philippines and outside.
04:28.1
But I also, but I'd like to, but beyond that also, I'm also focused on trying to get people comfortable talking about science.
04:39.6
And that generally means, on the one hand, having scientists and topic experts get comfortable talking about their work to the general public.
04:47.7
And on the flip side is having the public, yung hindi sila na-intimidate ng science.
04:55.2
So, that's the, that's the communications aspect of it.
04:58.9
So, yeah, I've done a lot of science journalism work.
05:01.2
And I did, I was the founding editor of GMA News Online Science and Technology Section, which started early 2010s.
05:11.0
Tapos, in 2017, I left to pursue my master's degree in science writing from MIT.
05:19.1
Okay. Can you just, for those of us who, alam niyon, mere mortals, how can you just describe a little bit how it is to go to MIT?
05:30.5
What is, what is like, kasi even, even, even Spider-Man wants to be there, diba, kaya nga sila-
05:36.7
Well, ako, nakakatawa when people say, you know, parang, oh, galing-galing ka, MIT, and all that.
05:41.9
I have to say, and I hope this encourages a lot of people out there, no.
05:47.4
You, of course, it helps if you have good credentials, it helps if you have good grades, but those are not the be-all and tell-all of everything, no.
05:57.3
A lot of these schools, I, of course, I can speak only of my own experience at MIT, but even if you ask sa ibang Ivy League schools like Harvard and whatnot,
06:07.6
they will always tell you that the applications is a holistic process, no.
06:12.0
So, they don't just look at your grades, they also look at your essay.
06:16.0
That's probably the most important thing.
06:17.7
When I say personal, all of these applications have a personal essay, diba.
06:21.3
They'll ask you, what are you doing now?
06:24.0
What do you, where do you see yourself in the future?
06:25.8
What do you want to do with your career, right?
06:27.8
And also, even extracurricular activities, what interests you?
06:34.2
What are your passions outside of your work or outside of your school?
06:37.4
So, for my part, sa totoo lang, and even if it shoots me in the foot, I'll be honest, no.
06:44.8
My grades really weren't stellar, no.
06:46.7
Usually, when they say MIT, palibasa kasi, it is one of the best schools out there,
06:53.0
parang inisip na, oh, kailangan siguro magna cum laude ka to get in or, you know, sobrang taas nung levels mo.
07:03.9
Ako, I wasn't any of that, to be honest.
07:07.5
For one, when I graduated college, I didn't, I wasn't even cum laude.
07:13.9
I didn't have any Latin honors, and all I had really was, you know, I put my nose to the grindstone, as it were,
07:23.0
and for many years, basta sulat lang ako ng sulat.
07:27.0
And when I found myself doing science communication, science journalism at GMA, yun, I worked really hard on that.
07:35.7
And that's what I put into my application.
07:38.3
And the funny thing was, when I did apply, I really didn't think I would get in.
07:44.9
I was actually, I actually applied because I wanted to be rejected.
07:49.7
Talaga?
07:50.2
Oo. Kasi parang, alam mo yun, yung, nung ina-assess ko, yung chances, no way they're accepting me.
07:57.5
Why would you want to be rejected?
08:00.0
Parang ano, parang, alam mo yun, parang may closure, kumbaga parang just so finality.
08:06.9
If I received, I felt that if, when I received a rejection letter, that's it.
08:12.4
Parang hindi ko na siya iisipin pa.
08:14.4
It's a closed thing na, okay, soundly I was rejected.
08:18.4
But the long, oh yeah, another thing, before I continue on that, there's a test that, at least for graduate level,
08:27.5
there's called the GRE, the Graduate Record Exam, na parang it's not necessarily an entrance exam,
08:34.8
but you have to submit your scores before your, along with your application to grad school, diba?
08:44.4
And even there, mediocre lang yung, yung scores ko, they weren't the highest.
08:52.0
So anyway, yun, mas layo talaga sabi ko, pag naglayo dito, they won't accept me.
08:56.6
Pero I just sent it in.
08:58.8
And then I remember fondly, 1am, which is 1pm in Boston, where they're headed,
09:04.4
tumunog yung phone ko, nagalit pa ako, sabi ko, ano to, spam or something.
09:08.6
And surprise, it was acceptance letter.
09:11.8
Wow.
09:12.3
So, for me, what that showed me was that, ano, parang, and this is also something that I found out also,
09:24.3
once I was there and I met so many Filipinos there, the Filipino community.
09:30.6
Pag nandito tayo, before you go through those hurdles of applications and whatnot,
09:35.2
parang ang daling tumingala sa mga tao na nandun na, yung nakarabot na.
09:39.4
Parang, wow, Harvard, wow, MIT, parang ang talina mo, di kita maabot.
09:43.7
But when you see the people there, they're just really, you know, very down-to-earth, normal people, hardworking people.
09:51.4
And, yun, I like to tell people, I like to say when I give talks about science communications,
09:58.6
to people who are aspiring to study abroad,
10:02.1
I personally cannot guarantee that you'll get into MIT or Harvard or any Ivy League school,
10:07.5
but I am certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that your listeners right now, and anyone who wants to apply,
10:16.0
you are more qualified than you think you are.
10:18.8
Ah, okay.
10:19.8
Definitely.
10:21.1
But, so what makes you, what is it that you think, kung ganun yung mediocre yung tigil mo sa sarili mo, tapos bakit ka nakuha?
10:35.1
Kasi I think, well actually I asked them that when I got in.
10:39.3
Sabi ko, ano, how was it? Sabi nila sa akin,
10:42.6
yes, your grades are part of what we assess, sabi sa akin noong selection kami,
10:48.4
but it's just one facet of the entire application.
10:54.1
Ang hinihanap nila is people who will be a good fit, quote-unquote, with the community.
10:59.3
And when you think about it, when you put yourself in the shoes of these people, it makes sense, no?
11:05.4
Kasi unang-una, first of all, of course, kunwari ikaw, tayo, putting yourself there,
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okay, I am going to accept these students and probably because they are from a third world country,
11:18.6
they need, you know, they need a subsidy about, we're going to, essentially, we're going to invest in them.
11:25.6
So the question then becomes is, will it be a good investment?
11:29.9
Will they be able to do good with the resources that we want to give them in terms of schooling,
11:36.0
in terms of our funding, partially or entirely, depending on how far you go with your education.
11:44.2
That, and also, if we're putting them, of course, when you're accepted into any program,
11:49.3
you're not just the only person there. Grupo kayo, di ba?
11:51.6
So will they be able to function together? Will they be able to work together?
11:56.0
Will they, so these are factors that they consider.
12:00.5
So in my case, naman, yun, I mean, I think, I'd like to think what sold them on me was,
12:10.2
because talaga, I was really passionate, sabi ko,
12:12.5
I'm really passionate about science communications in my home country, sabi ko,
12:18.8
and it's something that I love talking about, love doing,
12:21.7
and I feel that coming to MIT would help me pursue that even further.
12:29.3
So very, it's true, that's how I saw it, sabi ko.
12:35.9
And this wanting to do science communication, wanting to promote Philippine science,
12:43.0
is something that I was and still am very passionate about.
12:47.1
So even when I applied, nalang kong, at least I thought at the time na hindi ako matatanggap,
12:54.4
it was not, hindi yun pambobola sa akin, sabi ko, ito talagang gusto ko, so okay lang kung,
13:00.5
that is what is in the back of my mind, okay lang, i-reject nyo ako,
13:04.3
but this is really what I want to do.
13:06.4
And I'm thankful to them that they saw the value of that at tinanggap naman nila ako.
13:12.7
But last question about MIT, how about the campus?
13:17.1
Kasi parang, in pop culture, parang napaka-high tech ng MIT, di ba?
13:23.0
Anong itsura, may mga ano ba doon, parang mga, tawag doon, na parang si Tony Stark?
13:28.8
I'm so glad, alam mo, I'm so glad you asked, because it is really a geek haven.
13:33.3
I don't know, I don't know if that was also one of the reasons why they thought I'd be a good fit there,
13:39.5
pero sobrang nag-geek out ako doon, kasi...
13:42.0
Like, what are the things that you can see at MIT?
13:45.8
For one thing, ito pa lang, mga one or two days na parang ako nandun,
13:53.7
dumating ako, I moved into the dormitory.
13:57.1
One or two days after, bagong-bago pa lang ako doon, I was walking down the street,
14:01.3
tapos may nakita akong guy na naka-coat and tie siya, but his legs were mechanical.
14:09.6
Oh!
14:10.8
As in, he was very proud of it, he was walking down the street, pero yung laylayan ng pantalon niya,
14:18.0
naka-roll up, so you could see his legs were bionic.
14:22.2
Both legs, ha?
14:23.4
And then it was only later that I found out, he was, I forgot his first name, Dr. Herr,
14:29.9
H-U-G-H-E-R-R, Hugh Herr, you can Google him, it turns out he is a professor of biomechanics,
14:39.3
I think, in biomechatronics at MIT, and he lost his legs many years ago in a mountaineering accident.
14:48.0
Pero ang sabi niya, and this is all just I read after the fact, after I saw him on the street na,
14:54.1
he didn't see it as a hindrance to him, he saw it as a way to improve himself too.
14:58.3
So what his lab does now is they create bionic legs for the US military and other athletes and other people.
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So, and he's done a TED Talk, you can Google him now, he's got a TED Talk out there talking about
15:14.1
how that accident actually inspired him and his work.
15:18.4
But this is just one facet, parang napawala lang, parang naglalakad ka sa kalsada,
15:23.0
sabi ko, uy, mayroon kayo.
15:24.2
Or another time, like, all of these shots of publicity photos of the campus, di ba,
15:32.3
this green field with a large dome, di ba, that's called Killian Court.
15:36.8
Funny thing is, ano yan eh, generally, students don't cross it, it's just a green field na minsan nakinatamba yan,
15:47.8
ganyan, but most of the time when people go from class to class, indoors sila dumadan or elsewhere,
15:52.3
ibang daanan.
15:53.8
But anyway, sometimes you would see robots moving around, tinetesting doon.
16:00.7
From Boston Dynamics?
16:02.1
Yes, actually.
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Actually, I had the pleasure,
16:04.9
Boston Dynamics, at one point, even had a symposium of sorts in the campus.
16:09.2
A lot of the key people at Boston Dynamics were also from MIT, actually.
16:13.0
Did you see the dog in person?
16:14.6
Yes, yes, I saw the dog.
16:16.1
I have a photo of it somewhere.
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Really?
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How impressive is it in real life compared to?
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Very impressive sya, kasi sobrang dynamic sya talaga.
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When you, what you see in the publicity photos and publicity videos, yun yun.
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Hindi sya, hindi sya photoshopped, hindi sya manipulated.
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It's really capable of all of these movements.
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So, sobrang galing nga.
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But going back to your first question, you know, what's it like studying?
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Yung sobrang nakagulat, nakakatuwa na, parang it's just a normal thing for them.
16:50.0
Uy, there's a high-tech robot on the lawn moving across, ganyan.
16:53.8
How about the classroom?
16:55.2
What is your blackboard over there?
16:59.4
Funny thing is, there are normal blackboards.
17:02.6
Hindi naman sila high-tech.
17:05.4
Although for policy, if you guys have watched movies that feature the campus,
17:11.0
bawal kasing kunan yung loob ng classrooms.
17:13.7
And I think, I'm not sure if the hallways din bawal.
17:16.5
But the outside are okay.
17:17.5
Which is why when you see MIT depicted in movies and on TV,
17:22.2
yung naikita mo sa labas, totoo yun.
17:24.2
But like say in, what was this movie?
17:26.7
Umabas ang MIT, si Matt Damon, diba?
17:32.3
Born?
17:34.3
No, no, no, no.
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Much earlier.
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Your audience would probably know this.
17:39.0
Sorry.
17:39.3
But anyway, when they show the interiors, when they show the hallway and the classrooms,
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ibang lugar yun kasi bawal picture niya.
17:52.6
But yun, a lot of the classrooms, most of the classrooms are pretty much
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down-to-earth, chalkboard, whiteboard, sliding.
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Nothing really fancy.
18:01.9
How about the professors?
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Do they really, parang wow, ang talina?
18:09.6
Well, of course, MIT being what it is, it's home to more than a dozen Nobel laureates.
18:18.4
As a matter of fact, while I was there,
18:19.9
I had the pleasure of meeting yung Nobel laureate for 2018, yata, who won the joint
18:30.1
Nobel for physics because of the gravitational waves.
18:35.7
He's a professor there.
18:37.4
Tapos nagkataon na kaibigan nung professor namin in writing.
18:43.0
So she invited him one day to the class.
18:47.4
It's like meeting a rock star talaga.
18:49.2
Very much so.
18:50.0
And personally, on a personal note din, kahit hindi Nobel laureate, but maybe your audience
18:57.5
members who are literature majors or readers, they would probably know Alan Lightman.
19:07.7
Alan Lightman is a physicist at MIT.
19:11.5
He also wrote this very, very beautiful book, Einstein's Dreams,
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which is basically, the premise of the book is each chapter is a dream that Einstein had
19:22.9
while in the weeks and days as he was devising the general theory of relativity.
19:29.4
So, sobrang ganda nung pagkakasulitin.
19:33.7
As a matter of fact, that's also one of the reasons why I was in love with MIT.
19:38.7
And I will always be glad and honored that I had the pleasure to meet him.
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And naging professor pa namin siya.
19:47.0
Wow.
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But anyway, what I think what's interesting about Alan Lightman is he is a professor there
19:53.7
of science technology and society and also of science writing.
19:58.6
And yeah, he's just there.
20:01.1
Of course, you have other luminaries, Noam Chomsky, for instance.
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I didn't have the pleasure of meeting him kasi matanda na siya, bihira na siya pumunta
20:09.5
dun, although I do know some younger people, some who are more fortunate, like I know,
20:14.1
I have a friend na nag-undergrad siya from PISAI, dumireto siya sa undergraduate sa MIT,
20:20.2
which is, which is much more amazing, which is much more amazing feat, of course, kasi
20:24.9
pag-undergrad ka, syempre ang kalaban mo buong mundo yung pagpasok mo dun.
20:29.0
Plus, yun, it's much more stringent.
20:32.7
Pero yun, he had the pleasure of having Noam Chomsky, I think, as a professor.
20:36.9
And yun, naku-quint, parang when you hear my friend talk about it, parang normal lang,
20:41.5
oh yeah, we talked to him and whatnot.
20:43.4
Yeah, and that's what's really cool about places like this where, ano eh, when you meet
20:49.3
the people, they're just really passionate about research, about their work, and hindi
20:54.7
sila mayabang, wala silang air of, oh, I'm smarter than you, or ano, ganyan.
21:00.7
One of the things that is interesting there, and miski ako, nahirapan ako,
21:06.5
graduate na ako lang, nahirapan pa rin ako, is, ano eh, wala silang deferential culture.
21:12.2
You always, even the professors, first name basis kayo, Alan, I mean, like, I wouldn't
21:18.3
call him Sir Alan.
21:19.4
I would, actually, off the back of my head, but we just call him, oh, Alan, Alan has
21:24.1
this assignment for us, or have you submitted your thing to us.
21:27.0
Parang, parang ganoon diba, oy, Alan Chong!
21:30.7
Oh, kumusta na?
21:32.7
You know, pero ganoon eh, first name basis sila, basis ng professor.
21:36.7
Well, ganoon man talaga, ganoon yung kultura sa U.S. eh, diba, yung American, kahit
21:40.6
din sa mga call centers, nakasabi yun eh, diba.
21:44.0
Anyway.
21:45.0
But yeah, I'll just end by saying that MIT is geek central, sobrang fine, it even has
21:51.6
a science fiction library.
21:56.2
Science fiction and fantasy library that has the publications as far back as the early
22:00.6
1900s pa, and then there are all sorts of classes that you can take.
22:04.7
There's even a glass blowing class, there's a metal working.
22:08.3
Glass blowing class?
22:09.3
Oo, every year, yung products ng class, gumagawa sila ng mga glass pump case, which
22:15.6
they sell, and I really wanted to buy one as a souvenir, pero kinabano, baka mabasag
22:20.8
on the way home, so hindi na ako bumili.
22:22.3
Pero ang dami lang ganoon.
22:24.1
And they're so geeky in fact that, ano, yung PE classes nila, if you take three, if
22:31.4
I remember it's three specific classes eh, if you take swimming, boating, or sailing,
22:40.9
and ano, apat, if I remember correctly, sailing, swordsmanship, or sword fighting, and archery
22:51.0
I think, if you take all those four, you get a pirate certificate.
22:55.3
Talaga?
22:56.0
Oo, seryoso yun ah, kasi bibilihan ka talaga, MIT, with signature and everything, as a
23:02.2
pirate, pirate certificate.
23:04.0
Ganon sila kag-geeky.
23:05.8
It's so fun.
23:06.5
It's so cool.
23:07.8
Well, yun naman talaga eh, the most conducive to learning na situation would be parang,
23:16.5
it's like play.
23:18.5
Play is still the best way to learn.
23:20.7
The, ano, they have a saying, sabi nila, studying at MIT is like drinking through a
23:27.0
fire hose.
23:28.4
Because you're exposed to all of this information, all of these classes, everything.
23:32.8
Since, kung papayaan mo sayo mo, malilunad ka.
23:36.2
But it's there, it's a fire, parang nakatutok sayo yung fire hose.
23:39.8
It's up to you how to drink that up.
23:43.0
And yun, miski ako, sobrang natulala ko.
23:44.9
It reached a point where, inupo talaga ako nung program director namin, sabi, you know,
23:52.0
you have just a year to finish this course on a scholarship.
23:55.2
You have to finish this, sabi ko.
23:56.8
So, focus.
23:57.8
So, I had to drop out of some of the electives that I took.
24:02.2
Pero sobrang to, there's even a comic book writing course.
24:04.9
There's game development and design courses where they teach you how to make games, board,
24:11.7
not just video games, board games and whatnot.
24:14.3
There are even courses on the philosophy of games.
24:17.4
There's one professor there who talks about how video games affect, influence society
24:25.8
and vice versa.
24:26.6
Ang daming ganun.
24:27.4
So many, so many courses to choose from.
24:31.4
Yeah, kasi a lot of developments, nung mga scientific developments, especially in the
24:37.0
last century, were just science fiction when they started.
24:41.1
Diba, parang yung mga Jules Verne, diba?
24:45.2
So, papumunta tayo sa moon, diba?
24:48.0
Sakay tayo ng rocket, diba?
24:50.5
Tapos, people just trying to make the fiction reality, diba?
24:57.4
So, the more fiction you can come up with, probably the more absurd.
25:01.2
Which is, exactly, which is why it's so fascinating for me.
25:05.0
Yung interface between science fiction and actual science.
25:10.2
Because they, actually, it's a two-way street.
25:12.7
They inform each other.
25:14.0
So, we are familiar with that.
25:15.9
And actually, there are studies that have shown, there was a survey conducted by the
25:19.9
American Association for the Advancement of Science.
25:22.9
I think this was in 2017 or 2018.
25:26.7
Tinanong yung mga scientists sa US, what got you into science?
25:30.5
And I think 60 plus percent said that they were inspired by TV shows and fiction that
25:37.5
they read.
25:38.0
Star Trek, Star Wars, whatever, natuwa sila.
25:40.6
And so, that inspired them, their curiosity, which led them to scientific career.
25:44.6
So, we're already familiar with that.
25:46.0
And then, of course, if you see it online, mga gabing sinasabi na, oh, you know, cell
25:50.3
phones look a lot like the communicators on Star Trek and whatnot.
25:54.4
So, familiar tayo dun sa how science fiction helps science fact.
26:00.2
But one thing that's not talked much about is how the other way around, how science can
26:06.1
help inform science fiction and art in general.
26:12.5
Yeah.
26:12.7
So, one of the earliest ways that this has happened that we've seen historically is
26:18.1
the advent of photography, right?
26:20.2
So, when photography came out, it's scientific in the sense, technologically, specifically,
26:26.1
right?
26:26.6
You finally develop a, pun intended, a way to capture light on paper, right?
26:33.8
So, at the time that photography came out in the 1800s, there was concern na, oh, baka
26:40.8
mapektuhan yung, ano, yung mga painters, ganyan, yung mga artists, visual artists,
26:46.2
mawawalan sila ng trabaho, ganyan.
26:48.5
Kasi, of course, ano eh, bakit ka maghihirap na magdodrawing or magpipaint, pero isang
26:56.7
pitik lang, na-capture na in its full essence, yung actual na nasa harap mo, di ba?
27:02.0
Oo.
27:02.5
But as we've seen, obviously, that wasn't the case, no?
27:05.4
What happened was, they became complementary, and as a matter of fact, one informs the
27:12.7
other, di ba?
27:13.3
We've seen, we've seen how, how on the one hand, a lot of visual techniques in painting
27:19.2
have been influenced by, by photography, di ba?
27:23.9
Off the top of my head, you can think of, and you can Google this, yung nude descending
27:27.8
a staircase ni, ni Picasso, which, which is basically this image of a woman in various
27:34.6
stages moving down the stairs, which looks a lot like a multi-frame photo, di ba?
27:41.7
Na, which, which hearkens back to Edward Muy Bridge, Bridges' work, et cetera.
27:46.8
But, yun, so they inform, they help inform each other.
27:50.6
Photography has helped push the boundaries of what artists, visual artists are doing,
27:56.2
and also, it feeds back also, na kung ano yung mga, like, we see that now, di ba,
28:00.8
with, with artificial intelligence, how you have this AI now that bigyan mo ng prompt,
28:07.3
e.
28:07.5
Oo.
28:07.9
Nauso yun lately, di ba?
28:09.1
Yeah.
28:09.4
Yung, yung, um.
28:11.0
Google Art, hindi, nakita ko.
28:13.4
Merong, merong, merong, merong ngayon na, ano yun, lately, eh.
28:16.3
Yeah, yeah.
28:16.6
Last few weeks, di ba?
28:17.3
But anyway.
28:17.9
I forget the, the name what it's called.
28:20.2
Oo, but see, where, where visual artists are actually, naingganyo sila, because a lot
28:24.6
of the, my friends who are visual artists are saying na, nakaka-inspire siya, because
28:28.5
sometimes they need a creative peg, or they need to, to help, something to help them
28:32.3
visualize it further, so.
28:33.5
Yeah.
28:33.8
They type it in, and then it pops up.
28:35.2
Oo, okay.
28:35.7
So, so there's that.
28:37.0
Going back to MIT also, for instance, what I find very interesting there, and what I
28:41.8
would like to see also replicated here, is, so, MIT is largely, mostly known for, obviously,
28:48.9
engineering.
28:49.4
Oo.
28:49.8
It pushes the boundaries of, of, of engineering technology.
28:53.9
They come out with all sorts of new materials, all sorts of new devices, what not, di ba?
28:59.5
But one of the things they do is, okay, here is, say, a new nanomaterial with exotic
29:05.4
properties, ganyan.
29:06.6
They would bring in an artist and say, okay, here's what we've got, what kind of art can
29:13.3
you make with this?
29:14.6
Wow.
29:15.3
And then, yeah, sure enough, they would, siyempre, the, the artist is free to play
29:18.8
around with it.
29:19.8
They would sometimes figure out, okay, if you put it in this certain way, and then,
29:24.2
natamaan siya ng ilaw, ganito yung itsura niya, or, or maybe the way it stretches, it,
29:29.2
it, it has a kind of feel to it, ganyan.
29:31.3
So, they would collaborate with artists this way, and they have a museum where these are
29:36.8
displayed.
29:37.4
Oo.
29:38.6
Yeah, so, it's, it's so underrated how, kasi something na, yung isang anecdote na naalala
29:46.4
ko is, ano eh, yung kay, when Faraday invented, I think, whatever it is, that, yung motor
29:54.9
ata, yung, ah, tawag doon, yung, yung electric motor.
30:00.1
Okay.
30:00.6
So, may ikot-ikot na siya, diba, napapaikot-ikot na, kasi dati nag-e-stock lang siya, daw
30:05.0
siya doon sa isang, ano, basta hindi niya ginagawa yung continuous revolution ng pag-ikot
30:09.4
ng motor.
30:10.4
Tapos, nung, it took him, kubaga, napaka tagal, kubaga, to figure it out, kung paano
30:16.5
gawin yun.
30:17.4
So, nung pinakita niya yun, dun sa, authorities, kung sino ma, I, I forget the details.
30:24.5
So, it's, to them, it's just, ano eh, practically a toy, ano yan, so, ang gagawin, ang tinanong
30:31.7
sa kanya, so, okay, so, ano yan, what are we gonna do with it, ang sagot ni Michael
30:38.2
Faraday, so, I don't know, but one day, you're gonna tax it.
30:42.6
Diba, one day, you're gonna tax it.
30:45.8
So, it, it would take a creative mind to figure out, anong gagawin ko dito, ah, pagnilagay
30:51.1
ko siguro sa, pag nilagyan ko pala ng Ellys, ito pwede maging electric fan.
30:54.9
Pag, pag nilakasan natin, magiging, dalakasan motor, pwede maging motor ng mga barko,
31:00.6
o kung ano, ano, diba?
31:01.8
Interesting about, thank you for mentioning Michael Faraday, because he was one of, that
31:06.6
particular period in, in history, it's very interesting, up until the late 1800s, no,
31:12.4
ito yung panahon na, just like, Faraday was, ano, was a tinkerer, a lot of the things that
31:17.4
he developed were in his garage, and even as late as the Wright brothers, diba, which was
31:23.0
already early 20th century, 1900s, diba, na, all of these people, these inventors, what
31:28.9
they had in common was, they could go into their garage, you know, okay, I want to make
31:34.2
this, I think I can make a better, whatever, I can make people fly, or I can make something,
31:40.6
may idea, magbubuting-ting sila sa bahay, diba, tas gagawa sila, and then, through trial
31:45.8
and error, they could refine it, no?
31:47.4
You didn't have to be super specialized, you didn't have to have a PhD in, in, in physics
31:53.5
or something, you, you go into your, ano, and then tinker, diba?
31:57.3
So, this is something that is still valuable today.
31:59.7
Of course, a little bit more, it's a little bit harder these days, kasi, first of all,
32:04.4
of course, since that time, no, sobrang lawak na nung agham, no, andami nang nade-discover,
32:10.3
which is a good thing, of course, but it's now much more difficult for a person to have
32:14.7
a, a sense of the landscape of, of everything, diba?
32:18.8
Gone are the days na merong kang genius na alam niya lahat ng kayang alamin ng tao
32:23.4
sa buong mundo, no?
32:25.0
So, specialization is important and valuable these days, plus, of course, especially like,
32:30.3
say, electronics, for instance, because it's become more advanced, mahirap magbuting ting,
32:37.0
you mean, I remember as a kid, diba, yung, and probably you had similar experience, diba,
32:41.8
like, ano, you like this certain toy, curious ka, how does it work, babaklasin mo, you'll
32:47.5
figure out, oh, ganito pala yan, pagpindot mo to, may lever pala, ganito yung nangyari,
32:51.8
ganyan, diba?
32:52.8
It becomes increasingly difficult because if you look at toys these days, they're miniaturized,
32:57.7
electronics miniaturized, they are essentially, figuratively and literally, black boxes, diba?
33:03.4
Pagbukas mo na, isang microchip, isang solid microchip na lang yung nandun.
33:06.8
So, it's really hard to figure out.
33:08.9
That said, no, the good thing, the good thing is, uh, that's why in the U.S. it's a big
33:14.2
thing.
33:14.6
Di sa Pilipinas, we already have our own, uh, enthusiasts, mga, uh, tinkers, mga makers,
33:20.6
diba, that's the, that's the term for, uh, that's the, that's the popular term for
33:25.4
them, mga makers na, um, when I, I, I have an idea of something I'd like to do, um, I,
33:32.9
I, I go to my community and, uy, may alam ko bang circuit na para dito, or, or maybe
33:38.2
some kind of, um, pwede kong i-3D print na something to help with this task, ganyan,
33:43.8
diba?
33:44.5
So, that's something that I think is worth cultivating now, which jumps right back to
33:48.6
that idea of, of science and art and popular culture.
33:52.0
Yeah.
33:52.6
Where, uh, one of the ways that we can jumpstart interest in science is two things.
33:59.3
One is that, I don't know, help bridge the gap between, help bridge the gap between
34:04.6
science and, uh, and art, no?
34:07.0
Um, not just having, having a scientific discovery, something abstract that's out
34:12.4
there, but something that people can, uh, not just relate to, but also play around with
34:17.9
and in, in artistic ways, ganyan.
34:20.3
And also making it something that people can get their hands dirty on, you know, something
34:25.3
that, na pwede mong buting, buting tingin, uh, something that, that, kasi ano yun eh,
34:32.7
madalas kasi iniisip natin even in school, diba?
34:35.0
Parang, anong silbi niyan?
34:36.2
Magagamit ko ba yan?
34:37.2
Yeah.
34:37.9
Uh, but once people, once you, you, you experience that, na okay, through this, through the
34:42.7
scientific process and through this discovery that other people made, kaya ko palang isolve
34:47.4
yung problems, or I can make something that does something that I really want, diba?
34:51.9
It, it, it's very empowering, eh.
34:53.7
It's, uh, yung, yung isang naisip ko dyan is, uh, um, uh, I just thought, I just thought
35:00.2
about this, no?
35:01.0
Parang, with the, uh, beyond awesome technology that we have right now, kumbaga, everybody
35:11.1
essentially has access, even young kids can figure it out, as, er, as young as two years
35:16.3
old, diba? Nakakapag-iPad din, iba eh, three years old, diba?
35:20.2
Uh, but then again, how many of us really know how, really know how an iPad works, diba?
35:28.3
Parang, okay, do you think, is it, kumbaga, parang we are going, uh, growing, uh, every
35:37.4
year much and much more dependent on these technology without even knowing what it actually
35:45.1
is?
35:45.6
Do you think it is, uh, there's a little bit of problem in that, or?
35:48.5
Well, yes, to a certain extent, there is, ano?
35:50.6
Kasi, um, half and half, no?
35:53.6
On the one hand, it doesn't necessarily, it's a, no, on the one hand, it is a problem,
35:57.8
kasi ang tendency noon is you, you rely on the technology without really understanding
36:03.2
how it works.
36:04.0
And for most of the time, for a consumer product, that's out of sight, out of mind, kasi
36:08.7
pag nasira, papaayos mo, right?
36:11.1
Uh, or, or just buy a new one, baglang bago, diba?
36:14.5
Um, but it could be, if handled properly, it could be a jump off point towards curiosity
36:19.4
and towards understanding.
36:20.6
And yun nga, medyo difficult, kasi, of course, for you to understand how an iPad works,
36:26.1
you'd need to go through, actually, almost historically, ah, diba?
36:30.7
Ano yung, ano yung, ano yung laman niya?
36:33.4
Kung nga, okay, microchips.
36:35.0
And what is a microchip?
36:36.2
Ano yung history ng microchips?
36:37.8
Ganyan, diba?
36:38.4
So there is a little bit of involve, involvement there.
36:42.2
It's not, ah, these aren't questions that you can answer immediately.
36:45.9
But which brings us all the way back to science communications and science education, STEM
36:51.3
education specifically.
36:52.4
Kasi, ah, once you get, get, not just kids, no?
36:57.2
People engaged in, ano, in, in understanding the basic concepts, that builds up, eh.
37:03.2
That builds up to, even if, for instance, ako, for instance, di naman ako electronics
37:07.4
engineer, no?
37:08.4
Good luck sakin if I wanted to repair an iPad, diba?
37:12.7
But even the basics, like, okay, hindi gumagana yung, ano, yung USB port niya.
37:17.6
Medyo maluwag yung, ano, yung kable.
37:20.0
Kaya ko ba itong ayusin?
37:21.4
Baka kaya ko pang ayusin, diba?
37:23.0
So, so there, there are those levels where you're not, number one, as a consumer, you're
37:27.2
not completely helpless.
37:28.6
And secondly, more on the topic of being a consumer, maganda na iangat natin yung sarili
37:34.7
natin on a personal and social level na hindi lang tayo consumers of technology.
37:39.6
Because that's what we've been all this time, eh.
37:42.5
Most of the technologies that we have, have, are, are developed overseas.
37:47.1
Tapos, consumer, kasi, yun, yun, they're brought to us and ginagamit natin sila without
37:52.5
understanding the, the innards in it.
37:54.8
But why do we need to understand?
37:56.1
First of all, it helps us because that means we're not helpless pag nasira yan, diba?
38:01.3
Kasi one way of thinking about it is if you know how to repair an iPad, you've got a
38:04.6
business, diba?
38:05.8
If you know how to repair cellphones, may pangkabuhayan ka na, diba?
38:09.8
That other people don't.
38:11.2
But also, more importantly, and thinking long-term, is if you have people who are accustomed
38:18.2
to thinking about technology in this way, okay?
38:20.1
As in actively thinking na, okay, bagong teknolohiya to, how does it work?
38:24.6
How does this, how does this affect me as a consumer and people around me?
38:29.4
Then that paves the way towards, first of all, adapting the technology to better suit
38:36.6
you as a person and your culture and your, your society.
38:40.8
And also, eventually, trying, making your own technology, developing your own technology
38:46.6
for your own use.
38:47.6
Yeah.
38:48.1
Nakita mo ba yung ano, yung TED Talk?
38:50.9
There's a TED Talk of this guy who from scratch created, what's it called, a toaster, diba?
39:00.2
So, from scratch, talagang, I'm gonna make a toaster and see what, kasi you can buy it
39:07.1
for 500 pesos, may mga mumurahing toaster, diba?
39:10.5
Mga ganyan.
39:11.0
So, from scratch talaga, wala siyang, hindi siya bibili.
39:15.8
So, from the, from the metal casing, from to the heating elements of it, ginawa niya,
39:22.5
pati dun sa cordon, sa plug, basta lahat ng what incorporates a toaster, he will recreate
39:30.7
from scratch.
39:32.2
And, syempre, you can buy it for, let's say, 500.
39:36.1
Umabot siya ng, hindi ko alam kung 100,000 dollars, ganun?
39:42.4
I haven't seen this.
39:43.9
No, no, maybe, pero it's far more, far more, it's far more expensive than, ano, than
39:53.4
just buying it, going, going to the mall and buying.
39:56.8
Kasi ang ginawa niya, pumunta pa siya sa, sa iba't ibang states, dun sa may mga nagmimina
40:01.8
ng mga copper, para dun sa mga wires, diba?
40:04.6
Ganun ginawa niya.
40:06.4
To be fair naman, syempre, hindi naman natin sinasabing na lahat kailangan, ganoon, diba?
40:10.9
I have an interesting anecdote, funny thing is, I have a, I have a cousin who was studying
40:17.0
violin, no?
40:18.6
And one of the things that you, one of the essentials of a musician, of course, is a
40:23.1
metronome, diba?
40:24.1
Eh magkano lang yung metronome, diba?
40:26.0
500 pesos lang, even cheaper if you buy it from JB Music or wherever.
40:30.7
Eh yung tatay niya, electronics enthusiast, sabi, ba't ako bibili?
40:35.2
Agawan lang kita.
40:36.0
I mean, to be fair, it worked, but because it was homemade, it was just a knob and, and
40:44.5
a light and a speaker, parang napaka-un-gainly.
40:47.4
Samantalang, syempre, pag bumuli ka nung store-bought, mas compact, mas madaling bit-to
40:52.0
din.
40:52.0
Sabi, bumuli ako, I just gave her one of my extras, ayun, sa'yo na lang, mga kaawa ko naman.
40:57.7
I mean, basically, the point simply is, yeah, of course, it's sometimes practical, and most
41:03.7
of the time, it's practical to just buy something off the shelf.
41:06.1
Pero, ano din eh, there is an extremes yan eh.
41:10.5
Extreme din masyado yung super consumer ka na wala ka na, parang wala ka nang pakialam
41:17.0
kung paano gumagalaw ng mundo, wala ka nang pakialam sa mga bagay, eh kasi nababibili mo
41:20.9
lang at magagamit mo, diba?
41:23.2
That's too much of an extreme.
41:25.0
It pays to be curious naman.
41:26.6
In the same way, for instance, like, like a car, for instance, or if you're, if you're,
41:32.1
uh, if you use computers, for instance, diba, it helps to know, there's a practical side
41:38.2
to it, but it helps you to know how, what, how your car works.
41:41.9
It helps to know how to set up a computer, even if you're not going to do it.
41:45.7
Kasi, if nothing else, pag nasira yun, at pakialam mo replace, hindi ka mautakan nung
41:50.3
ano, nagbebenta sa'yo, diba?
41:52.2
Yes, and also, a car is, it, it is a car, collectively, pero it is also a wheel, diba?
42:00.7
So, yung paggawa ng wheel, yung wheels na yan, it's an entire industry of its own,
42:07.0
diba?
42:07.3
So, I, what I'm, siguro ang point ko lang is, sometimes we consume these readily available
42:13.9
products and think it's just something that pops on the shelves of stores, diba?
42:19.2
And that, it takes literally thousands and thousands of people for you to be able to
42:27.0
buy a car, and millennia worth of collective knowledge na inipo natin, diba?
42:33.4
Yes, true.
42:34.5
Kasi, doon palang sa paggano, pag, pag figure out nung mga, nung mga cogs dyan, diba?
42:41.1
Yung mga...
42:41.8
Differentials and what not.
42:43.9
Ano din yun, ano, hindi, the funny thing is, hindi rin totoo na, it's not true that Filipinos
42:51.6
are not technically inclined.
42:53.6
Pag gusto natin, ginagawa natin, case in point, yun, mga kotse.
42:58.1
Or even like yung mga nagre-race sa kalsada.
43:01.0
When you talk to any enthusiast dito, diba?
43:03.6
They'll be able to tell you about the minute details of their vehicles, diba?
43:08.6
Down to the fuel, the kinds of tires they use, ganyan.
43:13.0
This is all engineering, diba?
43:15.0
Pero hindi nila naisip na engineering siya.
43:17.7
Because they're just really, really engaged.
43:19.8
They love what they're doing and their goal is to either be the best at what they do
43:23.9
or just to win races or whatever.
43:26.0
Or right at home, diba?
43:29.9
Setting up PCs, diba?
43:31.2
The whole PC modding community, diba?
43:33.9
Sobrang, ano, makulit na people will tell you in the community, parang, oh this processor
43:40.2
is better than this one, or this configuration will do this better than, it's faster and
43:44.5
all that, diba?
43:45.4
So all of this technical discussion, this is already practical science.
43:50.6
Hindi lang natin siya nakikita as part of a larger whole.
43:58.3
If you pull back and look at it from a long-distance lens, nakikita natin na people, Filipinos
44:05.0
specifically, can be interested in science and technology specifically, engineering,
44:11.0
diba?
44:11.8
Hindi lang natin na-realize na that's the tip of that iceberg.
44:17.8
So let's move naman to science writing.
44:22.6
What kind of, what is it exactly, science writing?
44:27.4
So are you a journalist?
44:31.4
So do you write about science news or researches or what?
44:39.8
Madala, although nag-overlap, diba?
44:42.6
But I would say generally, science journalism, which I do, is a subset of science communications
44:48.2
as a whole.
44:49.8
As a science journalist, as the name implies, you are a journalist who happens to focus
44:56.7
specifically on science issues.
44:58.6
So when you undertake that process, of course, you have to be analytical to a certain degree,
45:05.8
skeptical of things that pass through you, right?
45:13.3
Beyond that also, communication in general, when you say science communication in general,
45:21.3
it goes beyond science journalism because you're talking about things that are already
45:25.0
established that are not necessarily news per se or not even newsworthy per se, but
45:29.9
are essential to talk about, diba?
45:31.8
Like basic science, things like, for instance, people like Neil deGrasse Tyson.
45:45.4
There are lots of TikTok people, incidentally, who see Green, diba?
45:50.0
See, when they talk about issues, sometimes, of course, they talk about issues that are
45:53.7
in the news, like say COVID, for instance, but generally, they will talk about basic
45:59.1
science concepts.
46:00.4
So this is the larger part of it, science communications, bringing these concepts which
46:05.8
to a lot of people might seem complicated or intimidating and making them interesting
46:13.8
and engaging to a popular audience of people who are not necessarily scientists.
46:19.6
Mas madaling maintindihan.
46:21.0
At saka, science communications is, I think, a very good meeting ground between the scientists,
46:34.0
the topic experts per se, and the general public.
46:37.7
Kasi what I find very uplifting is that there are lots of people who are fascinated by science,
46:46.9
but they don't see themselves as scientists, but they still want to be engaged somehow.
46:53.9
So science communication is a great way to look at that.
46:57.4
Recently, just a few days ago, I had the pleasure of speaking at an event, the Space
47:03.3
Camp, hosted by the Philippine Space Agency, or FILSA.
47:07.4
One of the things that I found out in my research for my talk, which was surprising,
47:14.1
but in a very good way, was that Filipinos are very interested in space science.
47:22.6
Hang on, let me just ask a few questions.
47:26.6
So, sino yung nag-organize nung talk na yun?
47:30.8
Oh, it's the Philippine Space Agency.
47:33.7
It is, I'm not that familiar, it is like a government?
47:38.2
Yes, the FILSA is a government agency that is directly under the office of the president.
47:43.5
Oh, hindi DOST?
47:45.0
No, it's an independent agency.
47:47.0
The idea of FILSA is, of course, to develop our capability for space science,
47:52.2
and by space science, we can talk about this later.
47:54.7
So, commission siya, basically, or not really?
47:57.8
It's an agency.
47:58.9
Agency, ah okay.
48:02.6
So, parang, diba sa U.S., gumawa sila ng… ay, hindi.
48:07.3
It is the equivalent of NASA.
48:10.7
It is no less than the Philippine equivalent of NASA.
48:13.0
That said, and we can talk about this later,
48:15.0
it doesn't necessarily mean that we're bringing people to space, not yet.
48:19.3
We need to develop satellites, and that's important, especially in the Philippine context.
48:24.6
Kasi, dahil sa lahat ng, because it's an archipelago,
48:28.3
andaming bagyong dumarating, and of course, climate change, whatnot.
48:32.2
Right now, all of the data that we get is from satellites that are owned by other countries.
48:37.2
So, even if some of that data is free, or merong some kind of ex-deal, or whatnot,
48:45.0
mas mainam na meron tayong sariling satellites,
48:47.4
because precisely because these are international satellites,
48:51.2
hati-hati kayo sa ibang bansa.
48:53.7
So, if someone else is using the data, or some such,
48:57.2
you won't be able to look at the Philippines rightly.
49:02.4
So, imagine if we develop a satellite that is geosynchronous, kung wari, at 24-7,
49:08.5
na nakatutok sa Pilipinas.
49:09.7
Oh, wala ba? Kala ko yung mga, yung lagi kong sinasabi,
49:13.8
yung ginagamit ni Julius Sempio para mamboso eh.
49:17.8
Sa'yo kasi mamboboso, professional mamboboso siya.
49:21.6
Grabe.
49:22.2
But these are satellites that we get information from.
49:27.6
They circle the Earth on periodic orbits,
49:30.2
which means there are times of the day na hindi mo kita ang Pilipinas.
49:33.8
Kala ko siya naka-geo, ano tawag ito?
49:36.8
Geosynchronous.
49:39.6
Okay, okay.
49:42.2
Tapos ang mahal pala nung, diba, nung pag binibili mo kada image.
49:47.8
Although there are some naman, like the U.S. satellites
49:52.9
are free for use by the public.
49:55.0
But still, you know, these are, nakikiangkas kayo.
49:57.7
So it would be nice if we had to develop our own.
50:00.2
Yeah, of course, it's always better.
50:02.1
Plus, plus the fact that the Philippines, because of our location,
50:05.8
is one of the best places to launch rockets into space.
50:09.3
Bakit?
50:09.6
Yun yung hindi natin.
50:10.6
Kasi, ano yun eh, you can, you can use our,
50:16.3
of course they always use rockets to push it into space, diba?
50:18.6
But the closer to the equator you are,
50:23.4
mas magagamit mo yung ikot ng mundo para ihagis yung rocket.
50:27.4
So relatively, the less fuel is needed.
50:30.2
Plus, it's also, it's also important na yung paghahagisan mo ng rocket
50:36.4
as it goes up into orbit.
50:37.9
If something goes wrong, of course it has to, ideally,
50:42.1
oh no, hindi ideally, talagang kailangan na hindi siya babagsak sa lugar na may tao.
50:46.8
So ang hinahanap lagi is a place that is surrounded to the east by water.
50:52.6
That's why I look at the launch one sa Cape Canaveral,
50:57.3
ganyan sa Florida, diba, sa U.S., diba?
50:59.6
These are all on the east coast, precisely because
51:03.1
pag lumipad yung shuttle or yung rocket,
51:06.4
kung may mangyari, or even when, like say the rocket boosters ng shuttle,
51:10.5
pag nalaglag, they fall into the ocean.
51:12.2
Walang matatamaan.
51:13.1
Tsaka nearest sa equator yung, ano, yung,
51:16.1
yung Philippines.
51:17.0
Yung, yung sa, yung Cape Canaveral, diba?
51:19.1
Relative to them.
51:19.9
Oo, diba?
51:20.5
Oo, but, but the, the, the, the, the, ideally,
51:25.7
the closest, talagang nasa equator.
51:27.8
And the Philippines is one of the few places where those two criteria are met.
51:30.9
So sa ano?
51:31.5
Malapit ka sa equator, tapos, ano, ang kaharap mo, dagat.
51:36.5
So giba ina yung Balesin.
51:37.9
Balesin, nandan yun eh, sakto pa lang ano, diba?
51:41.9
I had the, I had the pleasure also of talking recently to Dr. Rojel Cese,
51:47.8
who was one of the architects of the Philippine Space Program.
51:53.2
And a desired guest, I may add.
51:55.4
So Dr. Cese, let's, please, let's make the episode happen.
52:00.6
Dr. Cese, let's, ano, sige.
52:02.8
But, yun, so I had the pleasure of talking to him recently.
52:05.0
And sabi ko, parang, kasi he's also the one who explained to me
52:09.9
why the Philippines is such a, an ideal place.
52:12.3
Sabi ko, pero okay, pero hindi ba mahal
52:15.0
mag-set up ng launch facility?
52:18.3
Sabi niya, hindi.
52:19.3
Sabi niya, kasi it's like, it's just like an airport.
52:21.8
You build an airport, and the planes will come.
52:25.4
You don't build the planes, diba?
52:27.5
Sabi niya, oo nga, ano, that makes sense.
52:29.6
And then he showed me places around the world.
52:32.1
He pointed in particular to New Zealand, New Zealand launch facility na,
52:36.9
based on the photos, napakalit lang na bagay.
52:40.1
Parang siyang, parang siyang school campus lang.
52:42.6
Probably, I, I, of course, I didn't, I just saw photos.
52:46.1
Pero ang liit lang nung launch facility.
52:48.3
And it was just a launch pad and some roads leading to,
52:53.3
to housing facility, to, ano, to, to warehouse or whatnot.
52:59.0
But anyway, ang punto nga niya was, it's cheap to build a launch facility.
53:04.2
Tapos yung rockets mo, sabi niya, ibang bansa yung magpaprovide.
53:07.8
Ang mahalaga sa kanila is finding, kasi other countries have
53:10.8
Yeah, kasi other countries have already designed and built advanced rockets.
53:15.0
And they're looking for ideal places to launch them from.
53:18.1
So just like an airport, if you build it, they'll come.
53:21.4
Basically, parang you can rent it out.
53:23.4
Right, exactly.
53:24.2
And that jumps off to, that jumps off to a lot of things.
53:28.1
Of course, that, that means income for the country.
53:30.9
Livelihoods for the people in the area.
53:33.0
Because you will need people to maintain the structures and,
53:35.8
and maintain the facility, diba?
53:38.0
So it's a win-win for everyone, you know?
53:40.8
If we have our own facility, that would make it cheaper for us to build,
53:44.5
to design and launch our own satellites.
53:47.0
Pagkakitaan pa, posibleng pagkakitaan pa ng gobyerno.
53:50.3
Was it, would you know when this idea of having a Philippines-based agency started?
53:57.9
Anong, matagal na ba yan, o parang nabin-bin lang na project?
54:02.4
See, I, I give a lot of this credit to Dr. Sese.
54:08.9
And I do know that it was something that was on his mind in early 2010s pa lang.
54:16.5
But certainly, you know, even before then, I'm, I don't know for certain,
54:22.5
but I'm not, I would be surprised actually if no one out there thought of it.
54:26.0
Pero I can also understand that it's not something that we've looked at
54:30.2
because it seems daunting, diba?
54:33.1
Like katulad nyan, ako, that was, that was a relatively recent aha moment for me.
54:38.1
O nga, parang siyang airport.
54:39.4
Kasi parang pinisip ko, when you think of a space launch facility,
54:43.6
parang isip mo, ah, napaka-high-tech niyan, kailangan.
54:46.3
We don't have those technology, we don't have that capability.
54:49.0
But when he pointed it out, na, hindi, yung paglatag ng konkreto at sensor to,
54:55.0
o nga, no, yeah, that makes sense.
54:57.0
Yeah, kasi I think isang problema, even I am, ano, I'm parang guilty of this, na parang,
55:03.3
hindi, pang third world tayo eh.
55:05.3
Hindi tayo, hindi tayo, hindi pang, hindi pang space age.
55:11.2
Yun nga, ano, diba, yung nagkaroon tayo ng satellite, yung mga diwata.
55:15.4
Parang wow, parang nung una kong narinig yun, parang it's, parang wow, ang galing naman.
55:21.4
Diba, finally, tapos makita mo, ang liit lang pala nun, diba?
55:25.4
Tapos parang, pero parang, it's a, it's like, parang mahirap ka tapos biglang meron kang magandang cellphone.
55:35.9
Diba, parang ganun yung dating eh, na parang, parang hindi ka mangangarap ng ano,
55:40.5
hindi ka mangangarap ng magka-iPhone ka, diba, tapos biglang meron kang iPhone, bigla.
55:45.0
Pero yung maliit na pinak-lumang model, diba, parang ganun.
55:49.4
Ang ano kasi, the space program, which is what's interesting about this,
55:53.3
because there are several levels that it is useful if not, and needed, so it's useful and needed.
56:01.8
First of all, as we mentioned before, meron tayong, we need to have our own capabilities.
56:05.7
Kasi may magpag-iwanan tayo.
56:08.7
It's a fact that Southeast Asia, and Dr. Cesar I'm sure would probably slap me on the head
56:13.3
because I don't have this data on the top of my head, he does, and Philza does.
56:17.5
But it's a fact that Southeast Asia, many of the countries in Southeast Asia are far advanced already in terms of their technological capabilities.
56:26.6
India pa lang, alam natin.
56:28.6
Do you think it's also in the mindset?
56:30.6
Kasi I'm a science fiction writer na, and I still think like this as a Filipino,
56:39.9
na parang we are not worthy, parang may ganun na, not really, in a way lang, not really naman.
56:48.2
If I really think about it, parang I would disagree to that.
56:51.4
Pero by default, parang I don't expect much from the Philippines parang gaining momentum on these kinds of things.
57:00.7
It is partly a cultural issue.
57:02.7
And I know I'm not the first person to say this, pero it is colonial mentality to a certain extent.
57:10.5
Kasi una-una sa culture generally, we are very deferential.
57:14.6
We tend to defer to people in authority.
57:21.4
And we often perceive that as people external doctors.
57:28.6
O science yan, which is one of the challenges that I face as a science communicator and science journalist na
57:35.1
ang tendency ng tao, o science yan, hindi ko maintindihan yan.
57:38.2
It's so intimidating.
57:40.2
But when you walk through it, ah okay, ito lang pala yun.
57:42.2
So that's one. There's a cultural dimension to it.
57:45.4
Pangalawa, andun din yung, it's easy. Precisely nga, we think of ourselves as, we're a third world country.
58:01.4
We have so many problems as is. Bakit pa natin kailangan ng space engineering?
58:07.7
It's a valid question naman.
58:09.7
But the thing is, una-una, that's why science communication is important in that regard.
58:14.6
Because una-una, we have to say na, first of all, to make people aware that we have a space agency to begin with.
58:22.0
Pangalawa, to make them understand na, it's not like NASA yet, but we're going to send a Filipino into space.
58:30.6
What we need to do is to develop our own capability, space science capability.
58:38.3
Because we need it to monitor our own country.
58:44.1
As you said, rightly, not just the fact that we're an archipelago, but we're also one of the most susceptible to climate change.
58:52.6
And also to weather, to cyclones. Earthquakes too.
58:59.0
So having our own capability to monitor the country from space is very important.
59:04.5
And also, back then kasi, during the space race, at least to my impression to me is, to the rest of the world,
59:17.5
it's like a grandeur project for both countries, Russia and, para pa-kastigan lang tayo, diba?
59:27.0
Or let's call it what it is, pataasan ng ihig.
59:29.0
Oo, diba? Ganon. Pero ngayon, in this modern era of space technology, and alam mo yun, parang venturing into yung iba,
59:37.9
thinking of mining asteroids, and just the internet itself, communication, and of course yung monitoring ng geological patterns,
59:47.8
it's more practical. It's not, parang hindi na siya, parang necessity na nga eh, na kailangan alam mo yan.
59:58.2
Kasi ngayon meron tayong mga global conflicts din ang nangyayari, diba?
60:02.9
Monitoring. Kasi may technology na to use it eh. Kasi dati, parang wala namang internet eh, bakit ka pupunta dyan, diba?
60:10.1
Ngayon meron na eh.
60:12.1
Kasi maganda nga nabanggit mo yun. Kasi kung titingnan natin yung kasaysayan ng Pilipinas,
60:16.3
palibasa kasi naman, we are not the ones who develop these technologies.
60:20.3
But what happens is, lagit-lagit, passive consumers tayo.
60:26.7
It's happened when cellphones arrived on the scene, diba? Even the internet, diba?
60:31.4
Nahiki-angkas lang tayo.
60:33.4
Kahit sa art eh, diba? K-pop, diba? Ngayon lang tayo humahabol sa K-pop, kaya tagal ng usog.
60:39.5
By the way, of course, I'm not saying that it's all bad. Pero ganun lang ba tayo na tanggap lang tayo ng tanggap, diba?
60:47.2
Space, whether we like it or not, is something that all countries will eventually look to, diba?
60:53.0
I'm not talking about going to Mars, although eventually it's going to happen.
60:57.4
Think about it, like a hundred years from now to a hundred years, I wrote a sci-fi story about this once before.
61:02.3
Eventually, pag nag-colonize yung Mars, it will need people there, it will need staff to take care of it.
61:09.0
Ano yan? Pilipino na naman, tayo na naman yung mga janitor doon, tayo na naman yung mga doktor doon, diba?
61:16.0
Which again, not necessarily bad. But the point simply is that, lagi't-lagi, pag merong life-changing or world-changing technologies,
61:29.8
we tend to adapt it passively. Tapos biglang hahabal tayo, diba?
61:34.8
Just be followers. Kahit nga sa America, may kilala ka bang billionaire na Pilipino doon?
61:42.9
I should, I don't know.
61:44.9
Parang wala e, diba? Kasi kung may billionaire na Pilipino, malamang nabalitaan na natin e.
61:49.5
The first Filipino billionaire in the United States.
61:53.4
So, yan nga, parang maganda na we should prepare ourselves. It's a very practical thing.
61:59.9
So, the Philippine Space Agency, the Philippine Space Program, it's just one facet of that entire initiative sana.
62:06.7
Of which, going back to my own work as a science communicator and a science journalist,
62:11.1
I'm trying to help in my own small way to bridge that gap.
62:16.1
Hopefully, the idea is, if people are aware of scientific advances,
62:21.4
not just basta-basta nga, but ones that are relevant to the Philippines and scientific advances, especially that are made by Filipinos, diba?
62:31.1
Sana mas maging prepared tayo as science and technology moves forward. Hindi tayo passive consumers.
62:39.4
Plus, I have to say, tayo as a people, we are so hungry for Pinoy pride.
62:48.1
Validation.
62:50.1
Kung ano-ano na lang, kung ano-ano hinahabol nating world record na paramihan ng nilutong bangus sa kalsada, diba?
62:59.9
O paramihan ng tumalun sa isang lugar. Yung mga ganun, diba?
63:03.9
But here is something that we can really be proud of. We have Filipinos who are working, have their heads down quietly in universities around the world, doing great research, pero hindi natin nababalitaan.
63:21.9
Even in our own country, isipin mo ha, dito pa lang, lahat ng universities natin, ilan yung mga graduates ng sciences, yung mga engineering,
63:31.9
bawat isang yan, meron silang ginagawang thesis, diba?
63:35.9
But we don't promote them, we don't make them...
63:39.9
Ibang bansayang nakikinabang, diba?
63:41.9
Ibang bansayang nakikinabang. And even just the production of the thesis itself, hindi nababalita, hindi nabibigyan ng halaga.
63:49.9
Yeah, because there might be, who knows how many brilliant breakthroughs that Filipinos, local...
63:55.9
O, kasi hindi nababalita. Exactly. Which brings us also right back to that whole discussion on science journalism, science communication.
64:03.9
One of the things that I noticed, specifically at MIT because I was there, but also all the other universities in the States, not just the Ivy Leagues,
64:14.9
malaki yung investment nila in communications offices. They have their own communications offices.
64:22.9
Na pag merong thesis or whatever na lumabas, pag merong ibang lumabas, ano sila? They will promote it.
64:36.9
Case in point that I remember particularly, for instance, I forgot what university this was, but they did a brain operation on a person
64:50.9
because they needed to isolate a part of his brain that had tremors. So, he happened to be a violinist.
64:56.9
So, the best way to isolate the parts of his brain na nagkakaproblema was they operated on him while he was awake and playing the violin.
65:06.9
So, while he was playing the violin, parang unti-untin na, ito, anong nararamdaman mo ito? Okay ba? Hindi, hindi.
65:12.9
So, and then, pag merong part na problematic, of course, parang nahirapan siyang tumugtog or whatever. So, they were able to isolate it and then do the operation.
65:22.9
Ito, successful na they were able to install electrodes so that pag merong siyang battery-operated na thing na once he turns it on, tumitigil yung tremors niya.
65:31.9
Hindi na siya nanginig. So, he's able to play violin. I remember now, this was at John Hopkins University.
65:37.9
So, it's an amazing thing, right? But look at how they treated it. It was an operation done by an in-house surgeon.
65:44.9
But they did a video. They produced a video. They uploaded it to their website. They did a press release for it.
65:53.9
So, madaling mapick up ng news media. Nabalitaan miski ako from way across the world.
65:59.9
Nabalitaan ko siya because they had a good science communications outfit.
66:04.9
At MIT alone, you have, aside from the press releases that each of their universities has, each of their schools has,
66:13.9
they have MIT News, which is a weekly thing na naglalabas sila ng balita tungkol sa mga latest researchers nila.
66:23.9
They even have monitors in the hallways that display the latest press releases from them.
66:30.9
So, napakalaki ng investment nila in public relations. At kaya, nalalaman ng buong mundo na may nangyayari.
66:36.9
They even go so far as, not just MIT, of course, all of these universities, if they have something groundbreaking,
66:42.9
as in plakado, parang all-star event dito sa Pilipinas, maglalabas yan ng announcement, may teaser, tapos date nung unveiling.
66:56.9
Parang concert talaga.
67:00.9
Meron pa yan in certain cases na contact details ng mga key discoverers or whatever.
67:10.9
If you want to interview them for your story, ito yung contact details nila. You can talk to them here, ganyan.
67:17.9
Tapos naka-embargo yan.
67:19.9
By embargo, that means if you're a journalist, you can write about it, but you can't publish a story until simultaneous na ilalabas yan on the day itself.
67:28.9
So, it's very rockstar.
67:30.9
But we don't have that here in the Philippines. Not yet, at least.
67:35.9
Partly because hindi na pang-analagahan, and partly also because funding being what it is.
67:40.9
Between promoting it, you need it to do your research.
67:46.9
But that is where, and I'm glad that I'm not alone anymore.
67:50.9
There are lots of science communicators coming out now, younger ones, studying abroad also.
67:56.9
Hopefully, ma-develop natin ito.
67:58.9
We need our universities, we need our campuses to invest in science communications para malaman ng publika yung anong nangyari.
68:09.9
At least, the latest that I've heard na development ng Filipino inventors, a very impressive young lady.
68:19.9
Yung nag-invento ng parang aircon sa Bicol.
68:26.9
Pero siya, air disc ata yung tawag niya.
68:29.9
Ah, the air disc.
68:31.9
So, I think high school student siya, and then she, di ko alam kung thesis yun or what.
68:39.9
Pero di ko alam kung meron silang laboratory sa school.
68:43.9
Paano niya nagawa yun sa...
68:45.9
I honestly, I heard about it, I read about it, but I haven't delved too much into it.
68:49.9
But the technique, compression of air via mechanical means, isn't really new.
68:56.9
So, from what I know, it's been done elsewhere.
69:02.9
And of course, ibang usapan din if it is scalable.
69:10.9
Parang naka-ano na raw eh, parang meron ng nakapila na magmamass produce.
69:16.9
I don't know if I'm botching this, pero parang she was tinkering with microwave technology ata.
69:25.9
And then noticed that, parang heating device yung ginagawa niya eh.
69:30.9
I don't know if it's microwave, pero heating device.
69:32.9
And then noticed that on the other end, cold air is coming out.
69:37.9
So, parang binaliktad niya, ah kung dito, dun tayo sa kabila.
69:41.9
So, parang binaliktad niya.
69:44.9
And yun, nakagawa siya ng prototype and it won several awards, inventor awards, whatever that.
69:56.9
Kung ano mong ginagawa nila to.
69:58.9
Okay, ako hindi ko nga alam eh.
70:00.9
Pero it would be great to have her here nga din sana, pero to know more, diba.
70:06.9
But I forget the name eh, parang Isabel something, Angel Isabel parang ganun.
70:12.9
Tapos airdisk yung kanyang invention.
70:17.9
Parang alternative to aircon na mas cheaper to operate.
70:22.9
And I don't know lang kung to produce.
70:25.9
Pero kung totoo yun, diba.
70:28.9
Siyempre, ang init dito sa atin, tapos ang mahal ng kuryente, diba.
70:33.9
That would be a great invention.
70:35.9
Pero see, that's also why talking about science in popular culture, in popular sphere is important.
70:44.9
Kasi the tendency is like when someone does this, diba.
70:49.9
Parang wow, ang galing-galing niyan, tali-tali niyan, di ko kaya yan, diba.
70:53.9
So, ang tendency, it goes unscrutinized.
70:56.9
So, there are two sides to that.
70:58.9
On the one hand, at worst, and I'm not saying this is the case here, if it's a fake, diba.
71:07.9
Hindi natin natatanong kung fake ba talaga siya.
71:11.9
Parang namanghana tayo, oh that's it, and that's it.
71:14.9
But even if it is an actual new thing, the problem is nawawalan din ang support.
71:21.9
Kasi parang oh, ang galing niya, and then there's no engagement with the public, no feedback.
71:26.9
It ends in oh, ang galing niya, diba.
71:28.9
Oh, ang galing niya, and then that's it.
71:30.9
Tapos ok, tapos na, tapos hahanap tayo ng ibang magaling.
71:32.9
Exactly, or the tendency is, ok, ang tendency natin as a public, parang ok ang galing niya,
71:37.9
maghanap naman tayo ng sponsor niyan or elsewhere, diba.
71:41.9
Instead of us eventually having our own support systems, diba.
71:47.9
Bakit kaya ganon yung, this is one thing that really boggles me about Pinoy mentality.
71:54.9
Kasi ako, I get why Pinoy pride is getting flack,
72:01.9
pero I think to some extent it's still important for us to have a sense of pride from our roots naman.
72:10.9
Pero I get yung mga parang sobrang kababawan.
72:14.9
Ang pinaka-worst na example na alam ko yan,
72:17.9
nakasakaya ko sa bus dati, uuwi ako ng Laguna.
72:23.9
Tapos that was the time when nanalo ang Miami Heat ni Lebron James ng NBA Championship.
72:32.9
Tapos yung ano doon, yung head coach nila is Filipino, diba.
72:36.9
Ah, hindi ko alam kung half-Filipino, half-Filipino ata, si Paul Struck.
72:41.9
Tapos, along the way, nakasakaya ko sa sakyan,
72:46.9
yung apparently meron siyang kamag-anak sa Alaminos.
72:53.9
Tapos meron siyang flyer doon, meron siyang malaking banner nakaharang doon sa taas ng kalsada.
73:01.9
Nakalagay, congratulations to my cousin.
73:07.9
Ano mo kasi, yun yung nakaka-frustrate kasi it's a normal, hindi lang siyempre sa ating Filipino.
73:16.9
Kahit saan, it's normal to look for something to be proud of.
73:21.9
But in the specific Philippine context,
73:23.9
ang dami natin pinagdadaanan bilang isang bansa, diba, on so many levels.
73:29.9
Parang even people say that things have gotten worse.
73:34.9
I mean, let's not go into that, but even at its best,
73:37.9
even when things were better, supposedly better,
73:41.9
we always look for a way to have upliftment.
73:47.9
It feels good, especially given the kind of culture we have,
73:50.9
the communal na, uy, si ganito, wow, ang galing, galing natin.
73:54.9
But the thing is, what's frustrating is, sa sobrang desperate natin,
74:01.9
na kahit na, diba, it's already a running joke,
74:04.9
it's already a meme, diba, na kahit na 1-100 lang yung dugo,
74:09.9
uy, Pilipino, Pinoy pride.
74:11.9
What's so frustrating about that is, lumalayo tayo,
74:14.9
samantalang dito sa atin and even in other countries,
74:18.9
we already have Filipinos who are doing great work in so many fields,
74:22.9
medicine, engineering, physics, science, diba,
74:28.9
pero hindi natin napapangalagahan.
74:30.9
Kaya nga, diba, it's, and also, going back to my point,
74:35.9
naalala ko na, nalimuta ko kasi bigla.
74:37.9
So, we are, a lot of people, many people, many Filipinos are obsessed,
74:42.9
especially the media, mainstream media talagang obsessed na parang,
74:45.9
kasi sila rin yung promotor nyon eh,
74:47.9
kasi balita sila ng balita ng ganoon eh, kaya nai-enforce lalo eh.
74:51.9
So ngayon, as obsessed as we are with the Pinoy pride per se,
74:58.9
hindi naman natin ma-pursue na, alam mo yun,
75:03.9
bakit, parang sapat ng gratification sa atin yung,
75:09.9
yun nga, merong inventor Pinoy pride,
75:14.9
tapos hindi naman sinusuportahan.
75:16.9
Tapos, kabaga, in music, diba, parang,
75:23.9
tayo yung pinakamagaling na singer sa Asia, diba,
75:26.9
walang makakatal sa mga Pilipino.
75:29.9
Pero ngayon, we are just following the footsteps ng K-pop.
75:33.9
Diba, we used to be the leaders in music,
75:36.9
pero ngayon, diba, parang, instead of tayo yung OPM,
75:40.9
sila yung nanggagaya sa atin,
75:42.9
tayo, nakikipatipormahan nila, ginagaya ng mga ano.
75:47.9
Alam ko, Mada, I don't want to mambasag ng trip ng mga K-pop,
75:53.9
mga P-pop ang tawag eh, diba?
75:55.9
P-pop, Pinoy pop.
75:57.9
Diba, parang, it's weird na parang,
76:01.9
Pinoy pride, Pinoy pride, pero we can't take the lead.
76:04.9
That's true. Kasi, again, of course,
76:08.9
there's nothing wrong with having a fandom.
76:10.9
Of course.
76:11.9
Pero, hanggang dun na lang ba tayo?
76:14.9
Kaya nga.
76:15.9
Yung laging, and this of course extends beyond just science.
76:19.9
Even, you're a science fictionist as well,
76:23.9
even when we write our own fiction,
76:26.9
or create our own modern mythologies, as it were, diba,
76:32.9
we have so much to pull from.
76:36.9
And ako, I'm glad to see that some Gen Z,
76:40.9
a lot of Gen Z din, in small pockets of,
76:44.9
small pocket communities,
76:46.9
they're very engaged in talking about,
76:50.9
say, Philippine culture, pre-colonial culture,
76:53.9
Philippine history.
76:54.9
So, there is that.
76:56.9
At least, there's that.
76:57.9
These efforts to retrace our roots,
76:59.9
to make something that is uniquely ours, diba?
77:04.9
But yeah, we need more of that.
77:09.9
In the arts, it's happening.
77:11.9
Pero, more to the point of my own personal advocacy
77:14.9
and my own work, diba?
77:16.9
This is practically low-hanging fruit.
77:18.9
What's happening in the science community,
77:21.9
in the Philippines and abroad,
77:24.9
Filipinos are doing so much work in the sciences.
77:28.9
We are, I know it sounds very,
77:32.9
probably you could say idealistic,
77:34.9
but it's true.
77:35.9
Science is the history of,
77:37.9
science is the story of humanity.
77:39.9
It's the collective repository of human knowledge.
77:43.9
And all of us, all of us are a part of that.
77:47.9
And it would be nice to remember
77:52.9
and to always keep in mind that Filipinos
77:55.9
are a part of that story
77:57.9
and that we are also contributing.
77:59.9
We are writing our own part of that story.
78:02.9
Yeah.
78:03.9
You said parang collection of stories,
78:06.9
ang history, yung science.
78:08.9
O nga, I've never put it that way before.
78:12.9
At the back of, let's say,
78:17.9
the laws of physics, may story yan.
78:21.9
What are the things that amazed me before?
78:27.9
And I think it was one of the things
78:28.9
that led me to the path that I am now is,
78:30.9
we tend to think,
78:32.9
siguro because of how subjects are taught in school, diba?
78:36.9
That science is separate from history,
78:38.9
is separate from other subjects, diba?
78:41.9
But when you take a step back,
78:44.9
you realize that science is a story of humanity,
78:48.9
that it is shaped by cultural factors
78:50.9
and society itself is shaped by science.
78:52.9
Yes.
78:53.9
One of the examples that I like bringing up, for instance,
78:55.9
is, for instance, the idea of the number zero, diba?
79:00.9
It's very mundane.
79:03.9
Of course, we take it for granted.
79:04.9
Yes.
79:05.9
But it took humanity centuries, millennia,
79:08.9
to have that number.
79:10.9
Kasi, noong panahon ng Greeks,
79:12.9
and if we go back through history,
79:14.9
they could not, because of their worldview
79:17.9
and because of their philosophies and perspectives,
79:19.9
hindi nila ma-imagine na mayroong number na wala.
79:24.9
Diba?
79:25.9
If some of your audience went through
79:29.9
the history of philosophy, diba?
79:31.9
The idea of atoms, diodes, and all that, diba?
79:38.9
Parang sa kanila, imposibleng mayroong number na wala.
79:44.9
But it's interesting that the concept of zero,
79:47.9
although it was there,
79:48.9
but it's not something that they really focused hard on,
79:50.9
that it came into use in the East, in India,
79:55.9
precisely because their own philosophy naman
79:57.9
talks about nirvana, of nothingness.
80:01.9
So it enabled them to embrace the idea more fully.
80:05.9
And eventually, kaya nga ang ganun natin nga
80:08.9
is the Arabic numerals,
80:11.9
because the Arabs got it through way of India,
80:14.9
including the number zero.
80:17.9
But the point, what profoundly affected me
80:22.9
was how something as abstract as math, zero, science,
80:28.9
it's actually informed by history.
80:34.9
Or another thing, diba?
80:35.9
Like in school, lagi tayong mx plus y squared, diba?
80:43.9
We were taught quadratic equations, how to solve them.
80:47.9
It's just symbols.
80:49.9
Pero pag nalaman mo pala,
80:52.9
ang pinanggalingan nun was nung panahon nung Egypt,
80:55.9
lagi silang inaanod ng Nile.
80:58.9
So lagit-lagit, they needed to reclaim land.
81:01.9
So they needed to devise a system to measure off plots of land.
81:05.9
Kaya quadratic, kasi in squares and in rectangles.
81:08.9
So that is how they were able to reclaim land.
81:12.9
So it had a very practical purpose back in the day.
81:15.9
Tapos later on lang naging abstract.
81:17.9
So like, oh, that makes so much sense, diba?
81:20.9
So doon ako natuwa na parang,
81:23.9
not just may practical use itong mga abstract nito,
81:27.9
but they actually stem from problems that our ancestors had long, long ago.
81:32.9
Yes, kasi diba parang, how does it go?
81:36.9
Parang necessity is the mother of all inventions, diba?
81:41.9
So they have an existing problem that they needed to solve.
81:47.9
And then probably, hindi pa nga nila sinulat yan dati.
81:50.9
Parang ganito yan, ganito yan.
81:52.9
May nag-iexplain lang doon at sya yung nakakaintindi.
81:55.9
Tapos hindi, basta pumunta ka doon.
81:57.9
Bakit? Basta!
81:59.9
Doon ka, hawakan mo yung lubed, tapos lumayo ka dyan.
82:02.9
Tapos hindi niya naiintindihan pa malamang.
82:05.9
Well, maybe they did, diba? I don't know.
82:08.9
Kasi yung Egyptians were one of the first civilizations who invented the writing, diba?
82:15.9
So kaya nga nagawa nila yung mga projects nila
82:18.9
kasi they have ways to organize.
82:20.9
Tapos malaking factor din yung writing.
82:23.9
Being able to write things down.
82:25.9
Yung mga logistics nila.
82:27.9
Diba? At plot the...
82:29.9
Siguro, dinroving din nila yung piramid-piramid nila, diba?
82:32.9
I don't know if there are existing documents like that.
82:35.9
Pero, yun nga, meron kang problema
82:40.9
and nakagawa ka ng solusyon
82:44.9
and then you write it down, preserve it
82:47.9
and then pass it on to the next generation
82:50.9
and the next and the next and the next.
82:52.9
Actually, word problems.
82:55.9
Diba, naasar tayo dun sa mga word problems na
82:58.9
if Johnny is moving west at ganitong kilometers
83:01.9
and si ganyan, gano'ng katagal bago.
83:04.9
Yung mga gano'n, diba?
83:05.9
But actually, that was how mathematical problems were written down
83:10.9
a long time ago.
83:12.9
In Egypt and even before that
83:15.9
in Mesopotamia, the other cultures.
83:20.9
Yung mathematical concepts are usually described in that way
83:24.9
na mas as lengthy word problems.
83:28.9
So, yeah.
83:29.9
It's only relatively recently na
83:31.9
naging mas formal, na symbolic at saka...
83:34.9
Nagiging symbols na kasi.
83:35.9
Because of course, it's more to the point.
83:39.9
It's more practical.
83:40.9
Pero, it's also very intimidating.
83:43.9
Diba? Parang wow.
83:45.9
Pag hindi mo alam yung mga equations ng mga talagang
83:50.9
alam mo yun? Life equation.
83:53.9
Yung mga string theory na hindi mo alam kung anong ibig sabihin ng mga ibang symbols dun.
84:00.9
Diba? Nakalagay dun sa
84:03.9
basta kung ano-anong mga equations na
84:08.9
na figure out ng mga super matatalino.
84:13.9
They are just, hindi lang mat yun eh.
84:16.9
Parang there's a lot of philosophy and what else
84:20.9
na involved in creating.
84:22.9
Kasi sometimes, yung mga conundrums na sinosolve ng mathematics are
84:28.9
parang theoretical lang eh.
84:30.9
Like let's say yun sa mga black holes.
84:32.9
Hindi naman nila alam na may black holes eh.
84:35.9
Kasi hindi nga nila nakikita yun eh.
84:37.9
Pero, mathematically,
84:39.9
I don't know if I'm botching this, pero if you
84:44.9
parang pinrogress mo ng pinrogress yung mga equations,
84:47.9
parang you can come up with.
84:48.9
Mathematically, it's possible.
84:50.9
Historically speaking,
84:52.9
kasi ang mathematics, it started out as a practical thing.
84:56.9
At it's most basic,
84:58.9
some guy wanted to
85:00.9
remember how many items he had,
85:03.9
like sheep or whatever.
85:05.9
So, for the longest time, practical ang mathematics.
85:09.9
Only later on, na naging abstract,
85:12.9
kasi na-realize may mga tao na,
85:13.9
Uy, pwede palang ganito yung mangyari,
85:16.9
or you can think of numbers in this way
85:18.9
that's not necessarily tangible or physical, ganyan.
85:22.9
So, at it's root, it's practical.
85:25.9
And what happened din is,
85:28.9
for instance, in physics,
85:31.9
when Einstein was thinking about relativity
85:36.9
and the curvature of space-time,
85:39.9
he actually based his ideas of non-Euclidean geometry,
85:43.9
Riemannian geometry,
85:44.9
which was, at the time,
85:45.9
something that was considered completely abstract
85:49.9
and not part of the real world.
85:51.9
Kasi, to make it simple,
85:53.9
itong si Riemann, na-realize niya na,
85:57.9
ang pinagbabasihan dati ng mathematics,
86:02.9
for geometry specifically,
86:04.9
was Euclidean geometry.
86:07.9
We've learned this in school,
86:08.9
na two points, straight line, and whatnot.
86:12.9
Pero, na-realize niya that there's a certain,
86:15.9
going abstract,
86:16.9
he realized that there's certain mathematics
86:18.9
that describes things in a similar way,
86:23.9
pero in a curvature.
86:25.9
It was purely laro-laro lang sa isip niya.
86:28.9
He did not think it was a practical thing.
86:30.9
Thought experiments, diba?
86:32.9
Until Einstein came along and realized
86:34.9
na yung mathematics na ginamit niya,
86:37.9
akma siya doon sa naikita natin sa relativity.
86:42.9
And doon papasok yung talagang genius na level na pag-iisip.
86:49.9
Kasi parang, yung kanina example mo,
86:53.9
the concept of zero,
86:55.9
parang to us, it's just a benign thing,
86:58.9
na parang, okay, zero.
87:00.9
Pero, if you're gonna really think about it,
87:03.9
zero, it's a philosophical question,
87:07.9
na parang meron ba talaga nun?
87:10.9
Ikaw ba, sa talang buhay mo,
87:14.9
kung walang nag-i-exist ang number na zero,
87:16.9
may-iisip mo ba yun?
87:18.9
Will you be able to come up with that concept?
87:20.9
But the thing is, ano din, the problem,
87:23.9
I have to say, I agree to a certain extent
87:26.9
with that train of thought,
87:27.9
but I have to contest it in a certain way.
87:29.9
Kasi the problem with that train of thought is,
87:31.9
bumabalik tayo doon sa Filipino mentality na,
87:34.9
oh, genius yan, wala ako sa kalinkinan yan.
87:39.9
I can't do that.
87:40.9
But think about it, no?
87:42.9
The geniuses come up with something.
87:45.9
Yes, they're geniuses and they deserve that
87:47.9
our respect because they came up with something
87:49.9
that was not thought of before na.
87:51.9
Oo nga, no, ganyan.
87:52.9
But afterwards, you don't have to be a genius
87:55.9
to understand it.
87:57.9
I mean, what I'm saying, kumari,
87:59.9
is like relativity.
88:01.9
Mahina ako sa math.
88:03.9
I cannot understand the equations at all, right?
88:08.9
But the implications of what he discovered
88:11.9
are things that resonate with me
88:13.9
that I can understand, even at its most basic.
88:16.9
The point simply is that
88:18.9
there's not a clean divide between
88:21.9
knowledge ng geniuses and others.
88:27.9
Just because I'm not a genius
88:29.9
does not mean that I cannot appreciate
88:31.9
their ideas, number one.
88:34.9
And also, it does not necessarily mean na
88:36.9
yung mga ideas niya ay hindi ko magagamit sa buhay ko.
88:40.9
Well, hindi naman sa hindi natin magagawa yun na
88:48.9
si Einstein lang yun.
88:50.9
It's also, siguro ang point ko is
88:53.9
that it takes a genius to come up with it
88:56.9
pero to make something
89:00.9
that nobody would regularly come to think
89:04.9
or even think of thinking about.
89:07.9
That much I agree.
89:09.9
Kaya sila genius.
89:11.9
Because they thought of something
89:13.9
that other people didn't think about.
89:15.9
Kasi yung zero, once everybody
89:17.9
you can articulate what it is.
89:19.9
Everyone else can use it.
89:21.9
Oh nga, it's sobrang simple.
89:25.9
Pero yun nga yung problema sa atin na
89:27.9
hanggang manghana lang tayo na
89:29.9
oi, genius siya.
89:31.9
Like in the example you showed earlier
89:33.9
na this girl developed this
89:36.9
this thing, wow, ang galing niya, ang talino niya.
89:39.9
And then that's it.
89:40.9
Parang wala na tayong engagement with it.
89:43.9
Ang tendency natin generally is
89:45.9
wow, ang talino niya, hindi ko kaya yun.
89:47.9
And then what?
89:49.9
We don't ask, how does it work?
89:51.9
Can you explain, does it really work
89:53.9
the way you say it does?
89:55.9
Ano yung magagamit ba natin yan?
89:58.9
How do we make it something everyday?
90:01.9
Yes, you're right, geniuses are the people
90:03.9
who see things na sobrang simple
90:07.9
na hindi naisip na ibang tao.
90:09.9
But that does not mean that those ideas,
90:13.9
those concepts are exclusive to them.
90:16.9
Because once they discover it,
90:17.9
it's something that can be shared with other people
90:19.9
and other people can engage in, engage with
90:22.9
even if they don't understand the details of that.
90:26.9
Going back to Einstein, for instance,
90:29.9
it took his genius to discover relativity.
90:34.9
But that had practical implications
90:38.9
because it also affects everything like satellites.
90:42.9
GPS would not be accurate
90:45.9
if we did not take into account
90:47.9
the relativistic time between the satellites
90:53.9
and the earth.
90:55.9
So engineers figured that out.
90:57.9
And tayo, even as people,
91:00.9
like ako, I keep saying I'm not a mathematician
91:03.9
by any means.
91:04.9
Hindi ako makapag-math na at all.
91:07.9
But I appreciate this technology more
91:11.9
because I understand that it is based on
91:14.9
these equations that Einstein came up with
91:17.9
over a century ago.
91:20.9
Naalala ko yung isang joke ni Joe Rogan.
91:24.9
And it's also hindi naman kasalanan
91:28.9
na hindi ko naiintindihan kung paano
91:32.9
gumagana itong computer.
91:34.9
Kung paano, yung example niya is
91:36.9
taking a photo.
91:38.9
Digicams pa lang dati yun.
91:40.9
Wala pang cellphones dati.
91:42.9
So yung joke niya parang
91:44.9
when you take a photo, you just press this.
91:47.9
Yun lang ang participation mo.
91:49.9
Kung baga how that photo comes
91:53.9
magiging projects into the screen
91:56.9
na makikita mo yung photo mo,
91:59.9
wala ka ng idea.
92:01.9
For all you know, may mga leprechauns daw.
92:04.9
Drawing nila yun.
92:06.9
Tapos yung isang lagi kong naaalala dati
92:11.9
sa special niya na yun, parang
92:13.9
if I leave you in a jungle
92:18.9
with an axe or a tool ganyan,
92:21.9
how long before you can send me an email?
92:24.9
Yes, yes, that's true.
92:27.9
Maganda nga yung point yun kasi.
92:29.9
That's the amazing thing.
92:33.9
But to a certain extent, it's also
92:35.9
a frightening thing about technology today
92:37.9
because what we have today, our society
92:40.9
and the technology that it's built on
92:42.9
is the culmination of all of these advances
92:45.9
in technology and science
92:48.9
spanning millennia.
92:50.9
And also, we are living in a very
92:53.9
fragile planet that one solar flare
92:57.9
could wipe it out.
92:59.9
And then how are we gonna survive
93:01.9
without the iPad now?
93:03.9
Without the apps na pambili natin
93:05.9
ng mga grub shit natin.
93:08.9
Or paying, yung banking system natin,
93:11.9
everything will collapse.
93:13.9
And even mechanically, kasi
93:15.9
kung wala na yung power grid,
93:17.9
yung mga matatandang nakikeras
93:19.9
na life support.
93:21.9
Even yung mga nakatira sa mga,
93:23.9
let's say, 40th floor ka,
93:25.9
biglang wala kang tubig, di ba?
93:27.9
Mag-iigib ka, di ba?
93:29.9
Akitin mo yung, di ba?
93:31.9
Tapos wala kang...
93:33.9
The thing is, which is why it's important,
93:35.9
science communication is important,
93:37.9
even science appreciation, STEM,
93:39.9
appreciation of STEM is important.
93:41.9
Kasi even if you are not going to
93:44.9
experience this kind of apocalyptic
93:46.9
situation, di ba?
93:48.9
Hindi ba nakakatuwa na
93:51.9
pagka gumamit ka ng bagay,
93:53.9
mapa electric fan yan, or cell phone,
93:56.9
mas naiintindihan mo siya,
93:58.9
mas na-appreciate mo siya because you
94:00.9
understand, even on a basic level,
94:02.9
how it works, di ba?
94:04.9
And that's a very empowering thing,
94:06.9
na hindi ka basta-basta tanggap lang
94:08.9
ng tanggap, hindi ka ututo na,
94:10.9
oh, itong technology na to,
94:12.9
gamitin mo, okay, ganyan ka lang.
94:14.9
Or at the very least, parang you can
94:16.9
recognize na parang...
94:18.9
Kasi sometimes, kasi parang,
94:20.9
ay, meron akong iPad, talitalino ko,
94:22.9
di ba, ayaw mo.
94:24.9
You need to ground yourself
94:26.9
na parang this is not
94:28.9
natural na meron kang haawak
94:30.9
ng basically a gift from the gods.
94:32.9
Oo, di ba?
94:34.9
Kailangan...
94:36.9
The example that I always say is,
94:38.9
yun nga, parang when you appreciate
94:40.9
STEM, science technology,
94:42.9
mathematics engineering,
94:44.9
it doesn't necessarily mean na aksayin mo
94:46.9
yung panahon mo. Kasi minsan sinasabi
94:48.9
ng mga tao, eh, bakit ko gagawin yan?
94:50.9
Eh, hindi naman ako mag-engineer, or bakit ako
94:52.9
gagawin yan? Hindi naman ako magiging
94:54.9
scientist. And some people,
94:56.9
frustrated pa nga, they want to be scientists but
94:58.9
they don't have the skill set, they can't learn it.
95:00.9
So parang waste of time. No, that's
95:02.9
not true. Kasi, ano yan eh,
95:04.9
when you
95:06.9
understand how something works, when you
95:08.9
appreciate it, ano eh,
95:10.9
at the very least, there's a practical reason for that.
95:12.9
Number one is, hindi ka magugulangan
95:14.9
ng mga taong nakakaalam tukol doon, diba?
95:16.9
And pangalawa is, it helps
95:18.9
you be more
95:20.9
informed when you buy something,
95:22.9
diba? The example that I always
95:24.9
say, for instance, ako bilang manunulat
95:26.9
and for a while I was an editor,
95:28.9
pinagtsagaan ko
95:30.9
mag-aral ng Photoshop,
95:32.9
pinagtsagaan ko mag-aral
95:34.9
ng video
95:36.9
editing, even though I knew
95:38.9
that I would not do this as a job.
95:40.9
But, bakit? Kasi,
95:42.9
alam ko na makikisalamuha ako
95:44.9
sa mga graphic artists, sa mga
95:46.9
video editors.
95:48.9
It will make my life and their lives easier
95:50.9
if I can, ano, if I can talk
95:52.9
to them in their language, diba?
95:54.9
On a practical purpose, for instance,
95:56.9
like, bibili ka ng bagong
95:58.9
computer, diba? If you know
96:00.9
very fundamentally, if you
96:02.9
appreciate fundamentally how it works, diba?
96:04.9
Then, pagbili ka, hindi ka
96:06.9
pahihirapan yung nagbe-benta sa'yo. At,
96:08.9
kung masama silang tao
96:10.9
at gunagoyo ka, hindi ka magugoyo.
96:12.9
Bakit ito yung binibenta mo sa akin,
96:14.9
samantalang ito, mas mura, or ito,
96:16.9
mas efficient ito?
96:18.9
So, there's a very practical reason
96:20.9
why we should be more engaged
96:22.9
in STEM.
96:24.9
Yes. Well, kailangan naman talaga
96:26.9
kasi, whether we like it or not,
96:28.9
this is the times we are living
96:30.9
in, diba? Sometimes,
96:32.9
although, on a
96:34.9
philosophical level, yung sinasabi ko
96:36.9
na parang grounding yourself
96:38.9
into reality, that the
96:40.9
technological enhancements
96:42.9
we have are not really
96:44.9
part of nature, diba? Parang,
96:46.9
kumbaga, these are things that we created to
96:48.9
enhance our lives, e.
96:50.9
And, it could be easily
96:52.9
taken away from us, whether
96:54.9
quickly or slowly, diba?
96:56.9
Pero,
96:58.9
right now, that it's
97:00.9
not happened, parang we
97:02.9
need to, one, appreciate
97:04.9
it, and know more
97:06.9
as much as possible,
97:08.9
diba, na
97:10.9
as much as we can
97:12.9
about these things.
97:14.9
And, yun,
97:16.9
people like you, especially here
97:18.9
in the Philippines,
97:20.9
as
97:22.9
a
97:24.9
science writer,
97:26.9
let's talk about, ano naman,
97:28.9
science literacy
97:30.9
here in the Philippines. So,
97:32.9
I think you would have an
97:34.9
insight on its state,
97:36.9
how's it like, or what can you say
97:38.9
about it? Generally
97:40.9
speaking,
97:42.9
several things. Now, first of all,
97:44.9
speaking as
97:46.9
a writer, journalist, and editor,
97:48.9
din, hindi rin totoo
97:50.9
na hindi tayo
97:52.9
mahilig sa science
97:54.9
per se. There is interest,
97:56.9
it's just that most of the time, we don't
97:58.9
think of it as such.
98:00.9
What do I mean? Let me explain.
98:02.9
For instance,
98:04.9
kasi, first of all,
98:06.9
in popular media, sa atin,
98:08.9
in the major newspapers,
98:10.9
broadsheets online,
98:12.9
broadsheets and online,
98:14.9
kokonti lang yung
98:16.9
mga spaces na merong
98:18.9
science and technology
98:20.9
sections. So, the tendency
98:22.9
is, a story would come out
98:24.9
that is science
98:26.9
in nature, or technological in nature,
98:28.9
pero mapupunta siya elsewhere.
98:30.9
So, hindi natin nakikita.
98:32.9
Concrete examples,
98:34.9
say, news
98:36.9
about Tesla and
98:38.9
artificial intelligence used in cars.
98:40.9
If you have
98:42.9
a science and technology section,
98:44.9
okay, great, it goes there. But most of the time,
98:46.9
in most of our
98:48.9
popular channels,
98:50.9
it would go into, say, the lifestyle
98:52.9
or even the motoring section,
98:54.9
because it's about cars. Okay, hey, let's go into motoring.
98:56.9
If it's a story
98:58.9
about SpaceX,
99:00.9
that's great science and technology news,
99:02.9
but most likely, it will go into
99:04.9
international news, kasi, tungkol sa US.
99:06.9
Closer to home,
99:08.9
the discovery
99:10.9
of homo luzonensis
99:12.9
a few years ago, di ba?
99:14.9
We published it in science and technology
99:16.9
sa GMA News Online
99:18.9
when I was at the time,
99:20.9
but elsewhere, it appeared in lifestyle
99:22.9
or it appeared in national news.
99:24.9
But there is interest,
99:26.9
it's just that because of this framing,
99:28.9
hindi siya nahikita,
99:30.9
ah, science news pala ito.
99:32.9
We can think about it as science news.
99:34.9
Secondly,
99:38.9
another example that I have,
99:40.9
generally speaking, is what I found out
99:42.9
very pleasantly surprised.
99:44.9
When
99:46.9
NASA started
99:48.9
its Mars missions,
99:50.9
it had this very brilliant
99:52.9
public
99:54.9
relations promotion
99:56.9
strategy. They called it
99:58.9
send your name to Mars.
100:00.9
They have a website where you can
100:02.9
put in your name, address, location,
100:04.9
di ba? Tapos, sobrang
100:06.9
simple, it costs practically
100:08.9
nothing. They will take your
100:10.9
names and then put them on a microchip,
100:12.9
which will then be included with
100:14.9
the Mars
100:16.9
mission. Pagdating doon, your name is
100:18.9
on Mars, literally, very literally.
100:20.9
Such a brilliant move.
100:22.9
But what does this have to do with your
100:24.9
question?
100:26.9
I was pleasantly surprised when I did research
100:28.9
for my talk at FILSA, the
100:30.9
Philippine Space Agency, a few days ago,
100:32.9
that the top
100:34.9
three
100:36.9
entries to that contest,
100:38.9
across the entire program,
100:40.9
top
100:42.9
two, not surprisingly, is
100:44.9
US, kasi siyempre, it's their program.
100:46.9
China, because
100:48.9
they have more people than anyone else.
100:50.9
But third was the Philippines.
100:52.9
Wow. Sobrang
100:54.9
natuwa yung mga
100:56.9
Pilipino na sumali doon. So,
100:58.9
what this told me was that there is
101:00.9
interest in science in general, in
101:02.9
space science in particular, among Filipinos.
101:04.9
Or text culture.
101:06.9
Text culture. Well, that too, di ba?
101:08.9
That also
101:10.9
does pay us into it, di ba?
101:12.9
So, this is an
101:14.9
untapped potential na pwede nating
101:16.9
umtahan. So,
101:18.9
going back to your question, one is
101:20.9
there's the aspect of framing,
101:22.9
na we
101:24.9
need to make people more
101:26.9
aware that a lot of the things that we deal with
101:28.9
on our day-to-day, meron palang science
101:30.9
angle tungkol doon. And some
101:32.9
stories can actually be viewed as
101:34.9
science stories. Because this helps
101:36.9
make science not something
101:38.9
na, oh, ano yan, science, hindi ko
101:40.9
naging yan, pang matalino lang yan.
101:42.9
When we realize na, oh, hindi pala, it's part of our
101:44.9
daily lives, di ba? That's one.
101:46.9
And also, yung
101:48.9
this interest in
101:50.9
this general interest
101:52.9
in science, it also helps us
101:54.9
be more prepared for
101:56.9
as I said earlier, di ba? When we
101:58.9
adopt new technologies,
102:00.9
we need to be
102:02.9
prepared for it. What does this have to do
102:04.9
with science appreciation education in the Philippines?
102:06.9
Ang problema kasi sa atin, and
102:08.9
this is something that I found
102:10.9
out when I was in the States.
102:12.9
Most of the Filipinos
102:14.9
in Harvard and MIT
102:16.9
are in disciplines
102:18.9
that
102:20.9
probably not surprising. In Harvard, for instance,
102:22.9
most Filipinos are in
102:24.9
medicine
102:26.9
and ano to? Governance
102:28.9
law, di ba?
102:32.9
At MIT, yes, there are engineers.
102:34.9
A lot of them are also
102:36.9
business. Kasi they have a very good
102:38.9
business school, di ba?
102:40.9
Which is well and good.
102:42.9
Pero ang tendency kasi natin as
102:44.9
Filipinos, we tend to gravitate towards these service
102:46.9
sectors. And there's nothing wrong with that. Actually,
102:48.9
we lead in that way, but
102:50.9
there's also potential to go
102:52.9
beyond it, which
102:54.9
brings me right back to something that I always
102:56.9
say a lot is
102:58.9
I had a lot of fun
103:00.9
in doing science
103:02.9
journalism and science writing
103:04.9
in the States, but I hope
103:06.9
that I'm not the last person to do it.
103:08.9
If a schmuck like me can do it,
103:10.9
anyone can. More people
103:12.9
can. And I keep saying this, I can't guarantee
103:14.9
you'll get in, but you're definitely
103:16.9
to those listening to this,
103:18.9
you are definitely more
103:20.9
capable
103:22.9
and you have
103:24.9
a bigger chance than you might think.
103:26.9
But do you really need
103:28.9
the degree or
103:30.9
can you go
103:32.9
indie?
103:34.9
Yes, actually, you can go indie.
103:36.9
But that also speaks
103:38.9
to a certain problem here in the Philippines.
103:40.9
Our tendency is
103:42.9
we tend to
103:44.9
look at
103:46.9
professionals in a certain
103:48.9
light.
103:50.9
Actually, I did
103:52.9
encounter that in some areas.
103:56.9
Let me put it this way.
103:58.9
As a science journalist, as a science
104:00.9
writer for close to
104:02.9
10 years, I never
104:04.9
can reach the point where
104:06.9
someone questioned what I had to say
104:08.9
because I didn't have a master's degree
104:10.9
or a higher degree.
104:12.9
That said, in higher levels
104:14.9
of
104:16.9
society, like say
104:18.9
decision-making levels, it does
104:20.9
help sometimes to have a
104:22.9
degree. And that's why I
104:24.9
did what I did because
104:26.9
did I really need it? Not
104:28.9
necessarily. I could have
104:30.9
gone all the way without
104:32.9
a higher degree, but I felt that
104:34.9
it would
104:36.9
help
104:38.9
and give more
104:40.9
because
104:42.9
if nothing else, it shows. It's not
104:44.9
so much the degree per se, but
104:46.9
I'd like to think that it shows
104:48.9
that, hello, I didn't just work.
104:50.9
I worked hard for this.
104:52.9
This degree shows that
104:54.9
I battled in the trenches
104:56.9
as it was and I emerged.
104:58.9
I mean, please,
105:00.9
have something to bring to the table.
105:02.9
I know what I'm saying
105:04.9
because I worked hard for this.
105:06.9
There's definitely value
105:08.9
in that diploma.
105:12.9
But how about now?
105:14.9
What kind of science writing are you
105:16.9
doing? Right now,
105:18.9
I freelance.
105:20.9
I still do
105:22.9
science news stories
105:24.9
every now and then when something pops up.
105:26.9
But I've also been interested
105:28.9
in, aside from
105:30.9
promoting science communications in general,
105:32.9
I've also been looking at
105:34.9
ways to help
105:36.9
people.
105:38.9
Mostly,
105:40.9
I've been working with government
105:42.9
recently to help
105:44.9
promote STEM
105:46.9
actually in general.
105:48.9
Particularly,
105:50.9
Pagtanaw 2050,
105:52.9
for instance, which was a project of the
105:54.9
National Academy of Science and Technology.
105:56.9
I helped co-edit that.
105:58.9
I was one of
106:00.9
I was just one of
106:02.9
several editors there but
106:04.9
it was something that I was very passionate about
106:06.9
because essentially
106:08.9
what Pagtanaw 2050 is
106:10.9
it's called
106:12.9
Technical Sternfort is a foresight
106:14.9
document. What they did was
106:16.9
the agency that
106:18.9
brought it about, the National Academy of
106:20.9
Science and Technology, to put
106:22.9
into perspective
106:24.9
it is the
106:26.9
association of all the
106:28.9
really big
106:30.9
names in science and technology
106:32.9
in the Philippines.
106:34.9
There you go.
106:36.9
Including several
106:38.9
national scientists.
106:40.9
So bigatin talaga sya.
106:42.9
But what they did was
106:44.9
they brought together all of these experts and said
106:46.9
okay, so
106:48.9
what is the state of science, technology, and
106:50.9
innovation in the country
106:52.9
today? Where do we
106:54.9
want it to be 30
106:56.9
years down the line by 2050?
106:58.9
So
107:00.9
brought together these experts, figured that
107:02.9
out, and then looked at
107:04.9
what steps do we need to take
107:06.9
so that we achieve those
107:08.9
goals. Wait, wait, wait. Are you
107:10.9
guys trying to predict the future
107:12.9
here? Very good question.
107:14.9
There is a reason why it is called
107:16.9
a foresight because it is not
107:18.9
a prediction.
107:20.9
One way
107:22.9
of looking at a foresight is
107:24.9
it is a
107:26.9
conscious assessment of
107:28.9
what you have today and what
107:30.9
you need to do to reach
107:32.9
a desired future.
107:34.9
After this whole
107:36.9
branch of study,
107:38.9
I mean, I defer to
107:40.9
one of my colleagues who
107:42.9
I don't know if he's listening, but I hope
107:44.9
he is. Si Sherman Cruz.
107:46.9
Wait, wait. Is it
107:48.9
basically the same as what
107:50.9
Disney used to do?
107:52.9
Work the world of tomorrow?
107:54.9
To assert
107:56.9
Disney because, wait,
107:58.9
let me get back to that. I'll just say
108:00.9
I had to mention Sherman Cruz because
108:02.9
he's one of several people who are doing
108:04.9
this right now, foresighting. They're
108:06.9
helping promote the idea of a foresight
108:08.9
which is a way
108:10.9
foresight thinking, which is a way of
108:12.9
planning towards a desired
108:14.9
future. It is a whole
108:16.9
of knowledge and practice
108:18.9
that is just now coming
108:20.9
to the Philippines. Actually, science fiction
108:22.9
jumps into that.
108:24.9
I just wanted
108:26.9
to mention Sherman Cruz. Look him up.
108:28.9
Foresight Philippines, I think
108:30.9
is the name of his group.
108:32.9
Anyway,
108:34.9
I mentioned on Facebook.
108:36.9
I mentioned also
108:38.9
science fiction. That's where
108:40.9
what you mentioned as in
108:42.9
Disney.
108:44.9
To a certain extent,
108:46.9
it does dovetail into it
108:48.9
but it's not necessarily true.
108:50.9
What Disney did with imagining the
108:52.9
future is very open-ended.
108:54.9
Possibly this, possibly that,
108:56.9
very Jules Verne.
108:58.9
It doesn't take into consideration
109:00.9
necessarily
109:02.9
the limitations of existing
109:04.9
technologies. It's basically what if.
109:06.9
There is a place for that.
109:08.9
Actually, it's very important that we do that.
109:10.9
We need
109:12.9
what they call blue skies.
109:14.9
Blue skies research, blue skies thinking
109:16.9
in the sense that
109:18.9
there's a space for
109:20.9
science fiction that is
109:22.9
open-ended.
109:24.9
Anything can happen.
109:26.9
Here's what could happen
109:28.9
if these factors come into play.
109:30.9
What if aliens landed on Earth?
109:32.9
What if a solar flare wiped out
109:34.9
all of this technology?
109:36.9
Futures
109:38.9
thinking in specific
109:40.9
foresighting is more
109:42.9
grounded in the sense that it assesses
109:44.9
what technologies, what science
109:46.9
is at the moment, what we have.
109:48.9
Based on existing
109:50.9
current.
109:52.9
Then looking at how that
109:54.9
technology will affect
109:56.9
the society in the
109:58.9
coming years and what other
110:00.9
factors might come into play.
110:02.9
Then deciding
110:04.9
how do we handle
110:06.9
these factors
110:08.9
so that in the future
110:10.9
eto yung mararating natin.
110:12.9
That's a whole
110:14.9
division of study.
110:16.9
This is what
110:18.9
excites me about it.
110:20.9
Science fiction
110:22.9
specifically plays a very
110:24.9
important role here.
110:26.9
Before you pare down all of these
110:28.9
ideas, you need to
110:30.9
dream, really dream
110:32.9
about things. That dovetails
110:34.9
into science
110:36.9
fiction and fantasy.
110:38.9
Going back to a lot of the things that I echoed over the past
110:40.9
hour or so, na
110:42.9
kailangan bilang
110:44.9
Pilipino, we need to think
110:46.9
of ourselves beyond
110:48.9
just consumers, passive consumers
110:50.9
of technology. Kasi whether we like
110:52.9
it or not, these technologies will
110:54.9
come to us anyway. In Pagtanaw
110:56.9
2050, you will read about
110:58.9
futuristic concepts, everything from
111:00.9
nanotechnology, smart
111:02.9
materials, even
111:04.9
smart
111:06.9
cars, smart
111:08.9
roads, even smart houses.
111:10.9
Pag inisip
111:12.9
mo, parang
111:14.9
wow, napaka
111:16.9
echoing what you were saying earlier, because
111:18.9
I also feel that. Parang
111:20.9
high-tech naman, parang impossible namang dumating
111:22.9
yan dito, or parang ang hirap
111:24.9
ma-imagine na tayong Pilipino meron tayong
111:26.9
cars na ganyan. Hello,
111:28.9
bako-bako na nga yung kalsada natin
111:30.9
na mayroblema na nga tayo sa traffic, tapos
111:32.9
AI-enabled cars pa rin
111:34.9
inisip natin. But the thing is,
111:36.9
whether we like it or not, sooner or
111:38.9
later, and probably given the state of our roads,
111:40.9
maybe later, darating yan
111:42.9
sa atin eh. But will we be
111:44.9
flat-footed when it happens?
111:46.9
Diba? Yun yung problema eh. Na
111:48.9
okay, sige, fine.
111:50.9
Economically, ang dami nating ibang iniisip,
111:52.9
ang dami nating ibang pinaproblema. These
111:54.9
technologies are not an immediate
111:56.9
concern, unlike they are in other
111:58.9
countries, in first-world countries. Fine.
112:00.9
But sooner or later,
112:02.9
bababa yung presyo niyan,
112:04.9
bababa yung accessibility, they will come to us.
112:06.9
And then, tsaka lang ba natin iisipin kung
112:08.9
paano natin ito gagamitin, papano
112:10.9
natin i-utilize?
112:12.9
Well, too late na. And it's already happened before.
112:14.9
Again, when cellphones
112:16.9
arrived on the scene, when the internet
112:18.9
arrived on the scene, when social media arrived on the scene,
112:20.9
lagi-lagi tayo, we play catch-up,
112:22.9
biglang, magbuburak lang tayo,
112:24.9
Uy, uso to, itong technology, uso ngayon. So,
112:26.9
what do we do now? Diba? So, we need
112:28.9
to prepare ourselves, and one of the ways we prepare ourselves
112:30.9
is going back, foresight,
112:32.9
foresight thinking, and more
112:34.9
down-to-earth is
112:36.9
bracing ourselves
112:38.9
through appreciating science and
112:40.9
technology and innovation
112:42.9
on a personal level, on a social
112:44.9
level.
112:46.9
Kaya nga, yung
112:48.9
sa cellphones natin,
112:50.9
yung mga 3G,
112:52.9
yung mga, tawag ito,
112:54.9
yung mga cell sites
112:56.9
na infrastructure,
112:58.9
wala, tapos yung
113:00.9
sa internet,
113:02.9
recent din lang, naging bumilis
113:04.9
ng, naging
113:06.9
efficient yung ano natin, tapos
113:08.9
dati ang mahal, diba, ng internet ng
113:10.9
Pilipinas.
113:12.9
Yeah, tapos ngayon, it's
113:14.9
samantalang
113:16.9
back in 20,
113:18.9
late 20,
113:20.9
2000s, ano e,
113:22.9
sa ibang bansa,
113:24.9
Korea, naka 5G
113:26.9
na yata, o 4G,
113:28.9
whatever. So,
113:30.9
yeah, ano tayo,
113:32.9
laging nga tayong nagka-catch up,
113:34.9
hindi ko alam kung
113:36.9
na, if there's something about,
113:38.9
about, Pilipino
113:40.9
na parang ang hirap, parang hirap na hirap tayong
113:42.9
mag-ano, na parang, look,
113:44.9
meron ditong opportunity
113:46.9
na, ang
113:48.9
lagi ko naisip ngayon, yung K-pop e,
113:50.9
kasi yung K-pop, mga
113:52.9
late 2000s
113:54.9
pa lang, makikita mo nang
113:56.9
nag-booboom siya e.
113:58.9
Diba? Tapos ngayon lang
114:00.9
parang ina-adapt
114:02.9
ng mga Pilipino yung ginagawa
114:04.9
nila. Kasi ngayon, may
114:06.9
talagang copycats na, ano, na
114:08.9
na mga, yung
114:10.9
mga P-pop bands,
114:12.9
ano talaga, sila, sorry to say,
114:14.9
kung if that's offensive to the
114:16.9
P-pop fans, I'm not
114:18.9
parang basag trip,
114:20.9
kung trip nyo yan, sige,
114:22.9
diba? Pero,
114:24.9
what I'm saying is, it could have been done
114:26.9
way sooner, kasi
114:28.9
nakikita nila na,
114:30.9
nagsisimula ng,
114:32.9
by the time na, mga
114:34.9
mid-2010s,
114:36.9
may mga K-pop bands
114:38.9
na, undeniable, sinasay,
114:40.9
diba? Yung Gangnam Style,
114:42.9
diba, doon pa lang e. Pero
114:44.9
ngayon lang tayo, biglang, ah,
114:46.9
gumawa kaya tayo ng gayto,
114:48.9
15 years later,
114:50.9
diba? Samantalang, 15
114:52.9
years ago, parang, oh, okay to ah,
114:54.9
iba yung trip natin, ibang trip netong mga to,
114:56.9
mukhang magiging successful, oh, nagiging successful
114:58.9
nga sila. Gawin kaya din
115:00.9
natin dito. Samantalang tayo dito sa Pilipinas,
115:02.9
puro tayo covers, diba?
115:04.9
Diba, baka, hindi, pero
115:06.9
okay na tayo dito sa covers, eh, okay
115:08.9
na tayo dito. Diba, parang,
115:10.9
it's so hard
115:12.9
for us to
115:14.9
to
115:16.9
move
115:18.9
on from
115:20.9
kung ano yung kinakasanayan,
115:22.9
parang nakikita mo na na
115:24.9
mabawa, umuusad
115:26.9
na yung technology.
115:28.9
Pero, komportable naman kami dito,
115:30.9
sige, bahala na kayo.
115:32.9
It's a little frustrating.
115:34.9
It is, it is. Kasi, ang problema din,
115:36.9
going back to science and technology,
115:38.9
nakaka-frustrate kasi,
115:40.9
nakikita mo, as I said,
115:42.9
the examples that I showed, like that whole
115:44.9
Filipinos signing up
115:46.9
for the NASA thing, and
115:48.9
even, actually, I remember, of course, when I
115:50.9
was still an editor of Science News,
115:52.9
we would always look at how
115:54.9
topics trended, no? And
115:56.9
back then, and I suspect even now, even though
115:58.9
I'm no longer connected with a news website,
116:00.9
so, of course, the top
116:02.9
trending news would always be
116:04.9
artista, exactly,
116:06.9
diba? And then, next to that
116:08.9
would be sports and popular
116:10.9
and regular news,
116:12.9
diba? Pero, pumapangatlo
116:14.9
at minsan, nangunguna, mga
116:16.9
Science News, especially if it has something
116:18.9
to do with the Philippines.
116:20.9
So, hindi rin totoo na
116:22.9
walang interest, but the thing
116:24.9
is, yun nga, we need to
116:26.9
develop it more.
116:28.9
Yung recent news
116:30.9
sa James Webb Photos,
116:32.9
the local news coverage
116:34.9
did quite really
116:36.9
well. Ang daming shares, diba?
116:38.9
Sa GMA, and
116:40.9
binasa ko yung mga
116:42.9
comments dun sa mga
116:44.9
posts, and
116:46.9
it triggered a lot of
116:48.9
conversation about the universe,
116:50.9
about the
116:52.9
life,
116:54.9
even God, questioning God,
116:56.9
mga ganyan. It discusses
117:00.9
the possibilities, and
117:02.9
makikita mo yung insights ng mga Pilipino
117:04.9
regarding the matter,
117:06.9
and it's
117:08.9
makikita mo nga na
117:10.9
interesyado talaga ang mga Pilipino dun.
117:12.9
Oo.
117:14.9
And also, since you
117:16.9
mentioned that, this whole
117:18.9
community at the forefront
117:20.9
of science. Yes, malayo pa tayo dun.
117:22.9
We're still developing our
117:24.9
own satellite technology, so making
117:26.9
something like the James Webb Telescope is
117:28.9
way, way, way into the future. Pero, the
117:30.9
thing is, again, umuusad ang
117:32.9
buong mundo, and even if
117:34.9
we're not at the forefront, we
117:36.9
will still be affected by these
117:38.9
developments, these advances that are happening
117:40.9
elsewhere. So, we need to stay on top of it
117:42.9
also, diba? And
117:44.9
baka far future na, diba,
117:46.9
when we eventually colonize other
117:48.9
planets, diba, when we
117:50.9
go to Mars.
117:52.9
Eventually, magkakaroon ng ano,
117:54.9
ng
117:56.9
IFW,
117:58.9
Interplanetary Filipino
118:00.9
Worker. Oo nga eh. Diba? So that's something
118:02.9
that we should... James, si, ano, si
118:04.9
Sikat na mukha siya, diba? Oo, yes!
118:06.9
I'm a big fan of his work,
118:08.9
incidentally. Shout out to direct
118:10.9
Keith Sikat. Direct Keith,
118:12.9
I love Dalimuom, I love
118:14.9
your other work. So, pero yun na,
118:16.9
see, people like him, and the work that he's
118:18.9
doing, science fiction, we need that eh, kasi
118:20.9
ano, eventually,
118:22.9
whether we like it or
118:24.9
not, makakaladkad tayo in that direction eh.
118:26.9
So, we need
118:28.9
to be prepared. Hindi tayo flat-footed
118:30.9
dapat. May naisip lang ako
118:32.9
sa sinabi mo, diba?
118:34.9
When the
118:36.9
Philippines or
118:38.9
other countries, diba? Let's say
118:40.9
go colonize
118:42.9
Mars. Ano kaya magiging
118:44.9
mga rules?
118:46.9
Diba? Is it
118:48.9
kung sino yung nauna dun? Para ah,
118:50.9
ito yung sa amin, ito yung sa amin.
118:52.9
Would it be parang
118:54.9
pagba ibang bansa yung
118:56.9
pumunta, will they
118:58.9
go on the same spot na nandun yung
119:00.9
mga tao, or they gonna start
119:02.9
somewhere na parang dito yung
119:04.9
Pilipinas sa Mars, dito. Dito kami.
119:06.9
Diba?
119:08.9
Will the area be the same as your
119:10.9
area here? Actually, magandang tanong
119:12.9
yan. Diba? There are actually
119:14.9
international,
119:16.9
hindi laws eh, mga agreements
119:18.9
concerning celestial
119:20.9
bodies, at yung pagmamayaring
119:22.9
to mga to. Oo, diba?
119:24.9
I forgot already, but
119:26.9
the guys over at Filsa,
119:28.9
Julius, if you're out there listening,
119:30.9
you probably know this more than I do. Dr. Cece
119:32.9
definitely knows this by heart.
119:34.9
But the gist of it is that there are
119:36.9
international conventions
119:38.9
of which various, just like any
119:40.9
UN na depende
119:42.9
sa mga bansa kung sino yung
119:44.9
magsasign up and mag-agree doon
119:46.9
about how,
119:48.9
kung paano gagamitin yung
119:50.9
extraterrestrial resources, na kung
119:52.9
kesyo, kung sino man ang mauna dun,
119:54.9
sila ba talaga may-ari, or merong area
119:56.9
na bawal lahat
119:58.9
ng tao na mag-claim na it's a communal
120:00.9
resource of the entire humanity.
120:02.9
May ganon eh.
120:04.9
But again, that goes right back to what we're saying,
120:06.9
na buong mundo
120:08.9
umuusad towards that.
120:10.9
Eventually, ang Pilipina,
120:12.9
that's why the Philippines needs
120:14.9
a space agency, and that's
120:16.9
why generally, we as a people, we need to think
120:18.9
be more
120:20.9
proactive in our utilization
120:22.9
of science and technology moving forward, kasi
120:24.9
mapupunta rin tayo dun eventually.
120:26.9
Or in a worst case scenario, kunwari,
120:28.9
merong
120:30.9
some kind of national, although hindi naman to
120:32.9
as far as I know, wala namang ganito, but
120:34.9
what if all of the first world countries
120:36.9
suddenly decide na, oh
120:38.9
pagdating natin sa Venus
120:40.9
or wherever, sa Mars, atin-atin
120:42.9
lang to, yung mga hindi-assignatories
120:44.9
dito, bahala sila. So if we
120:46.9
don't think about that now, ano yun, echa puwera
120:48.9
tayo. At some point,
120:50.9
we will just be living on someone
120:52.9
else's property or someone else's land.
120:54.9
Of course, that kind
120:56.9
of scenario, as far as
120:58.9
I know, little, what little I know,
121:00.9
given the agreements
121:02.9
that are out there, parang hindi pa naman
121:04.9
or hindi naman talaga mangyayari
121:06.9
yun. But my point simply
121:08.9
is that, again, to
121:10.9
reiterate a
121:12.9
theme that I've been going back to again and again
121:14.9
over this talk, is that
121:16.9
these advanced
121:18.9
scenarios, scientific scenarios,
121:20.9
these advanced technologies, yes,
121:22.9
malayo pa tayo sa third world country, but
121:24.9
they will impact us later,
121:26.9
if not sooner. And when
121:28.9
it happens, it will help us to
121:30.9
be prepared.
121:32.9
Ang weird siguro, no, kung
121:34.9
pupunta tayo
121:36.9
dun, tapos wala tayong
121:38.9
sariling lote.
121:40.9
Tapos, umalis kayo,
121:42.9
makikira tayo, diba?
121:44.9
To a certain extent,
121:46.9
that's what's happening now with
121:48.9
space technology, and that's
121:50.9
why we need our own space agency, kasi
121:52.9
lahat ng datos natin
121:54.9
nakuha natin
121:56.9
sa satellites na ibang
121:58.9
bansa. At kahit na libri yun,
122:00.9
because these are international satellites,
122:02.9
they are,
122:04.9
those resources are divided among other
122:06.9
countries. And it's not
122:08.9
necessarily, and even when
122:10.9
we are able to use these resources,
122:12.9
they're not necessarily
122:14.9
optimized for the Philippines
122:16.9
situation.
122:18.9
But what if, let's say,
122:20.9
siyempre meron ng, pinag-usapan
122:22.9
na yan ng mga international,
122:24.9
parang
122:26.9
adhering to it is a different
122:28.9
ano naman, different
122:30.9
conversation, pero
122:32.9
let's say, tayong dalawa yung magde-decide.
122:34.9
Ano kaya
122:36.9
maganda? Just for fun
122:38.9
lang, ano kaya
122:40.9
mas maganda? Would it be better
122:42.9
if it is communal na parang
122:44.9
lahat ng resources sa Mars?
122:46.9
Every nation would have,
122:48.9
would it go direct
122:50.9
every, kumbaga, yung mga
122:52.9
yung mga
122:54.9
mga goods
122:56.9
na makukuha mo dun, go to
122:58.9
the World Bank, tapos
123:00.9
evenly distributed.
123:02.9
Pwede kasi ganoon, diba?
123:04.9
To get to a utopia
123:06.9
like that, you need to
123:08.9
have stakeholders, diba?
123:10.9
Kailangan muna nating ma-realize na,
123:12.9
stakeholder tayo dito.
123:14.9
We have every right, we have
123:16.9
just as much right
123:18.9
to discuss these resources
123:20.9
as everyone else in the world.
123:22.9
Siguro yun ang pwedeng gawing
123:24.9
kumbaga merong isang kumpanya
123:26.9
na all nations will chip in
123:28.9
there, tapos kung magkano
123:30.9
yung chip in, parang may ano ka, parang isang
123:32.9
parang may business kayo,
123:34.9
diba? Tapos merong
123:36.9
base dun sa nilagay mo,
123:38.9
yun ang kasama
123:40.9
yung kasakita.
123:42.9
Diba?
123:44.9
Pwede naman yun eh, kesa
123:46.9
kasi humbawa kung let's say
123:48.9
hindi eh, dito sa area
123:50.9
may, since kami pumunta dito,
123:52.9
sa amin to, diba?
123:54.9
Tapos pagdating mo
123:56.9
dun sa tayo, humbawa
123:58.9
hanap tayo na sa atin, diba?
124:00.9
Syempre yung mga satellite-satellite din naman dun,
124:02.9
diba? May melee ka, tapos
124:04.9
pagdating natin dun,
124:06.9
nakakuha na tayo ng isang plot,
124:08.9
tapos sa kabila, merong
124:10.9
malaysia nandito sa kabila,
124:12.9
mas mayaman yung
124:14.9
lugar nila, diba? Parang logi tayo,
124:16.9
diba? So CC natin kung
124:18.9
si Julius,
124:20.9
si Julius yung nagtitingin ng
124:22.9
satellite, dito tayo, dito tayo, tapos
124:24.9
Julius ah, pag naging
124:26.9
DOST head ka,
124:28.9
hindi mo kaming kakalimutan.
124:30.9
Oo nga eh, no. Hindi pala
124:32.9
palpak pala yung pili
124:34.9
ng location ni Julius, no?
124:36.9
So parang logi ka
124:38.9
sa terrain kasi hindi mo naman alam kung
124:40.9
anong nasa ilalim nun eh, or at
124:42.9
least, I don't know, o kaya yung mga
124:44.9
asteroid, diba? Unahan kayo kung sino.
124:46.9
Diba they just recently
124:48.9
saw ano daw eh,
124:50.9
an asteroid na
124:52.9
basically parang 10 trillion,
124:54.9
ah 10
124:56.9
thousand times worth the
124:58.9
world's economy, ang value
125:00.9
nung ano na yun,
125:02.9
nung asteroid na yun. Merong nabasang
125:04.9
news eh, about it.
125:06.9
So,
125:08.9
hindi mo alam eh, game changer e,
125:10.9
but why wouldn't,
125:12.9
kasi it's relatively cheap to go there eh,
125:14.9
diba? It's relatively
125:16.9
cheap talaga na
125:18.9
it's just a rocket, magkano ba yung
125:20.9
ginagastos ng gera sa Ukraine?
125:22.9
Diba? Walang sinabong, walang binatbat yun.
125:24.9
Going back to ano, again,
125:26.9
Dr. Cesar would know the data
125:28.9
more intimately, but it would,
125:30.9
it could potentially be cheaper
125:32.9
to launch rockets into space kung
125:34.9
meron tayong space facility sa Pilipinas.
125:36.9
Oo nga. Tama.
125:38.9
Not just for us,
125:40.9
but even people who'll be
125:42.9
renting it. Kasi nga, given the
125:44.9
given the location,
125:46.9
you
125:48.9
could potentially have a fuel
125:50.9
savings. It's such a
125:52.9
no-brainer, no? Come to think of it.
125:54.9
Diba? Bakit nga wala tayo nun?
125:56.9
Yung nire-reclaim, reclaim tayo
125:58.9
ng reclaim sa Manila Bay, diba?
126:00.9
Dilagyan mo ng
126:02.9
dolomite beach. Which needs continual
126:04.9
review.
126:06.9
Pero yun nga, that's what frustrates me.
126:08.9
I was
126:10.9
one of the people
126:12.9
admittedly online who really bashed
126:14.9
the dolomites.
126:16.9
Sige, charitably,
126:18.9
sabihin natin, okay, it was well-meaning.
126:20.9
Pero yun nga, yung nakaka-frustrate
126:22.9
na there are
126:24.9
other, at least I think, I feel
126:26.9
that there are other
126:28.9
things that are much more
126:30.9
deserving of Pinoy pride
126:32.9
and things that could... Kasi
126:34.9
ano yun eh, from what I understand, diba, it was
126:36.9
done kasi the people
126:38.9
needed something to uplift their
126:40.9
spirits or whatever. There was a psychological
126:42.9
dimension, fine, but there are other things that
126:44.9
could be developed
126:46.9
in the same way and probably
126:48.9
are more sustainable than an
126:50.9
artificial dolomite beach.
126:52.9
Kung ako yan,
126:54.9
dapat nilagay na lang doon mga
126:56.9
mangroves, diba?
126:58.9
Kasi dating mangroves forest
127:00.9
naman talaga yun eh.
127:02.9
Luminis pa yung, kung gusto na talagang
127:04.9
linisin yun. And there are still mangroves in the
127:06.9
near vicinity. Doon sa may
127:08.9
kavite, diba?
127:10.9
May small patch doon sa may
127:12.9
coastal road area doon.
127:14.9
And anyway,
127:16.9
it's
127:20.9
magandang project nga yun,
127:22.9
diba? Would you know if
127:24.9
it's been proposed already or?
127:26.9
Not that I'm aware of, but at least
127:28.9
that area,
127:30.9
I forgot, L-S-U-H,
127:32.9
it's a
127:34.9
long acronym eh, yung
127:36.9
mangrove area. So it's still
127:38.9
protected. Pero yun eh,
127:40.9
andoon yung mga ganitong,
127:42.9
may mga ganun
127:44.9
areas that could be a source
127:46.9
of pride for us eh, pero
127:48.9
bakit tayo maghanap sa iba?
127:50.9
Why are we looking elsewhere when
127:52.9
things like that are right here?
127:54.9
Or going back to the whole science
127:56.9
and technology thing, you know? We
127:58.9
have so many people who are doing
128:00.9
good work, discovering things,
128:02.9
inventing things.
128:04.9
Why are we wasting time on
128:06.9
an effort on
128:08.9
world
128:10.9
records or whatever, when
128:12.9
these are right here?
128:14.9
Anyway, we're
128:16.9
almost, we just
128:18.9
reached two hours.
128:20.9
Amazing!
128:22.9
Time flew.
128:24.9
Pero before, kasi
128:26.9
before we
128:28.9
end, let me
128:30.9
just ask you, kasi
128:32.9
this is mas personal
128:34.9
naman to.
128:36.9
I'd be damned if I
128:38.9
at least didn't bring this up.
128:40.9
So,
128:42.9
culturally
128:44.9
naman, it's a, you were,
128:46.9
you recently just got
128:48.9
out of a
128:50.9
nightmarish, I would imagine,
128:52.9
experience.
128:54.9
Getting embroiled
128:56.9
in a,
128:58.9
how would you describe it?
129:00.9
An accusation.
129:02.9
And then, you were
129:04.9
also vindicated
129:06.9
because the case was dismissed.
129:08.9
Yes, it was dismissed with prejudice
129:10.9
and with finality, yes.
129:12.9
What are the things that you can
129:14.9
share about that?
129:16.9
How did that affect you?
129:18.9
And what can you say about the entire
129:20.9
thing that you got accused of without
129:22.9
sufficient basis?
129:24.9
Well,
129:26.9
I have to say, first of all,
129:28.9
before, let me preface
129:30.9
what I'm saying by saying that
129:32.9
it's a terrible thing to be
129:34.9
mobbed, to be
129:36.9
lynched by online mobs.
129:38.9
And that
129:40.9
has given me insight
129:42.9
on
129:44.9
just how unhealthy social media
129:46.9
specifically can be.
129:50.9
And that's something that
129:52.9
I try to be mindful of now.
129:54.9
I don't blame
129:56.9
people for piling on necessarily
129:58.9
because that's how social media
130:00.9
is. It's very easy to
130:02.9
jump into
130:04.9
things like this. You see something
130:06.9
that seems
130:08.9
and without further investigation
130:10.9
you pile up on it.
130:14.9
And that was very
130:16.9
difficult for me.
130:18.9
And it made me understand
130:20.9
just how powerful and how
130:22.9
bad the effects of social media echo
130:24.9
chambers can be.
130:26.9
And which is why that segues to also
130:28.9
why I feel
130:30.9
that it's very important
130:32.9
for due process to
130:34.9
be undertaken.
130:36.9
Because when that
130:38.9
happened,
130:40.9
I understood that
130:42.9
I needed to face
130:44.9
those accusations.
130:46.9
And I'm actually glad
130:48.9
that
130:50.9
charges were filed
130:52.9
because that enabled
130:54.9
the truth to come out.
130:56.9
But yeah,
130:58.9
they were
131:00.9
dismissed.
131:02.9
And I will
131:04.9
I won't go into
131:06.9
the details.
131:08.9
But yeah,
131:10.9
the thing was,
131:12.9
I welcomed that because it was an
131:14.9
opportunity
131:16.9
for an
131:18.9
independent look
131:20.9
at what happened.
131:22.9
And that's something
131:24.9
that a lot of people who are accused
131:26.9
online sadly do not have.
131:28.9
When they are
131:30.9
accused,
131:32.9
up to that point,
131:34.9
they're
131:36.9
lynched by mobs
131:38.9
and they don't have any
131:40.9
recourse to
131:42.9
clear the air
131:44.9
if the accusations
131:46.9
are false or not.
131:48.9
The thing is,
131:50.9
based on what I saw
131:52.9
from you online
131:54.9
before,
131:56.9
you were one of the people
131:58.9
who would actually
132:00.9
do the same things
132:02.9
that the mob
132:04.9
were saying
132:06.9
about you.
132:08.9
You're part of that team too.
132:10.9
But then again,
132:12.9
you got into their
132:14.9
crosshairs
132:16.9
for...
132:20.9
How does that feel?
132:22.9
Being one of them and then all of a sudden
132:26.9
getting the rot,
132:28.9
the viciousness of
132:30.9
the attacks?
132:32.9
Well, generally speaking, I think
132:36.9
in fairness, I understand that
132:38.9
a lot of the vitriol that
132:40.9
happened in the MeToo movement was
132:42.9
out of frustration because
132:46.9
a lot of voices were
132:48.9
not heard.
132:50.9
And I understand that.
132:52.9
But it's all the more reason why
132:54.9
why
132:56.9
we need
132:58.9
spaces where
133:00.9
these can be
133:02.9
tried and
133:04.9
discussed.
133:06.9
And there are a lot of people
133:08.9
who
133:10.9
have been falsely
133:12.9
accused.
133:16.9
But there's no
133:18.9
way of
133:20.9
figuring that out.
133:22.9
But then
133:26.9
also in that
133:28.9
toxic part of that culture,
133:30.9
because I acknowledge that there are
133:34.9
benefits
133:36.9
in outing
133:38.9
proven predators.
133:40.9
We need that as well.
133:42.9
But we need to be careful
133:44.9
as well that
133:46.9
just because
133:48.9
those who came out after MeToo
133:50.9
believe all women
133:52.9
I know the
133:54.9
original
133:56.9
hashtag meant well
133:58.9
that maybe
134:00.9
it should be included but use common sense.
134:02.9
But it's not included.
134:04.9
It just says believe all women
134:06.9
as long as it's no matter what.
134:08.9
Without probing
134:10.9
if there's sufficient
134:12.9
proof
134:14.9
in the accusations or what.
134:16.9
And that's where it becomes
134:18.9
problematic because it becomes
134:20.9
vague and
134:22.9
people want to be a part of
134:24.9
a righteous
134:26.9
movement.
134:28.9
What would be more righteous than
134:30.9
protecting innocent women from
134:32.9
predators?
134:34.9
The problem was that
134:36.9
maybe that's why
134:38.9
believe all women came out
134:40.9
because the default is
134:42.9
not to believe immediately.
134:44.9
And that's the
134:46.9
reason back then.
134:48.9
It shouldn't
134:50.9
be like that.
134:52.9
You assess it fairly
134:54.9
and the default is not wrong.
134:56.9
Oh, you're a woman.
134:58.9
Maybe you want that.
135:00.9
That's also wrong.
135:02.9
Which is why
135:04.9
it goes back to
135:06.9
there should be
135:08.9
a place
135:10.9
where
135:12.9
to ferret out the truth.
135:14.9
Because
135:16.9
sometimes
135:18.9
these movements get
135:20.9
hijacked by the extreme
135:22.9
thinkers.
135:24.9
No matter what
135:26.9
because
135:28.9
if not,
135:30.9
you're an enabler
135:32.9
of violence against women.
135:34.9
And that's where
135:36.9
it becomes muddy.
135:38.9
That's where
135:40.9
maybe
135:42.9
it started.
135:44.9
Dude, no.
135:46.9
I think more people from the movement
135:48.9
that we need to
135:50.9
not be like that. That's not what we mean.
135:56.9
The facts of the case
135:58.9
are clear
136:00.9
and it rests there.
136:02.9
The case details are out there
136:04.9
for people to judge
136:06.9
for themselves what actually happened.
136:08.9
But I'm grateful that
136:12.9
there was the opportunity
136:14.9
for the court
136:16.9
for this to actually go through the courts
136:18.9
to clarify.
136:20.9
How did it feel when you got the
136:22.9
ruling?
136:24.9
Very relieving.
136:30.9
I think I'm
136:32.9
lucky in that
136:34.9
there was that opportunity
136:36.9
to clear my name. But unfortunately
136:38.9
a lot of people who are
136:40.9
called out
136:42.9
online, that's it.
136:44.9
All you have left are
136:46.9
the accusations
136:48.9
on social media.
136:50.9
Do you still get the people who are
136:52.9
not convinced?
136:58.9
They will never accept the ruling?
137:00.9
I think that's probably
137:02.9
a given with anyone who's in
137:04.9
a similar situation.
137:06.9
It's both ways.
137:08.9
For instance,
137:10.9
Monica Lewinsky back in the day,
137:12.9
even today, I think there are people
137:14.9
who just
137:16.9
still think negatively.
137:20.9
I guess that's
137:22.9
something that
137:24.9
is perhaps
137:26.9
unavoidable.
137:28.9
How about the support that you get
137:30.9
when you were going through that ordeal?
137:32.9
Who supported you and
137:34.9
how?
137:36.9
I'm glad that there are
137:38.9
people who...
137:40.9
I think
137:42.9
I can talk about more of how
137:44.9
damaging
137:46.9
the echo chamber can be.
137:48.9
Social media.
137:50.9
Because of social media
137:52.9
specifically echo chambers can be,
137:54.9
you can hear
137:56.9
more
137:58.9
people beating you
138:00.9
down and whatnot.
138:02.9
It is good to have people
138:04.9
remind you
138:06.9
of
138:08.9
where you are, who you are, and what
138:10.9
you really stand for.
138:12.9
I see.
138:14.9
I suppose family.
138:16.9
From where did you get the
138:18.9
most support?
138:20.9
Family,
138:22.9
of course.
138:24.9
Alright.
138:30.9
After this,
138:32.9
what do you think about,
138:34.9
last question about it,
138:36.9
what do you think about the...
138:38.9
I think you already
138:40.9
said the due process.
138:42.9
What do you think about
138:44.9
generally the
138:46.9
accusations
138:48.9
like that?
138:50.9
How
138:52.9
damaging is it?
138:54.9
How bad did it get you?
138:56.9
Well,
138:58.9
to be honest, false accusations
139:00.9
harm everyone.
139:02.9
They have a lasting mark
139:04.9
on the people who are falsely accused.
139:06.9
And even for people,
139:08.9
it even has fallout even on
139:10.9
people who are not directly in that
139:12.9
situation because it casts doubt
139:14.9
on people who are telling
139:16.9
the truth.
139:18.9
Did you get any...
139:20.9
Did it affect your
139:22.9
profession, your job at all?
139:24.9
It did for
139:26.9
a while, yeah.
139:28.9
Wow.
139:30.9
Okay, so
139:32.9
before we end,
139:34.9
I have a
139:36.9
project
139:38.9
that, in all honesty,
139:40.9
I don't know how it will
139:42.9
transpire,
139:44.9
what will come out of it.
139:46.9
Because I invite people
139:48.9
from different...
139:50.9
all political sides, basically.
139:52.9
I don't pick
139:54.9
pro-BBM or pro-Lenny.
139:56.9
I'd like to...
139:58.9
Because you can be
140:00.9
anything while being
140:02.9
pro-Lenny or pro-BBM.
140:04.9
There are scientists
140:06.9
or artists who are
140:08.9
BBM or Lenny. But we just
140:10.9
finished an election
140:12.9
and a lot of divisions
140:14.9
were made.
140:16.9
Most prominently in social
140:18.9
media, right? You can see the division of
140:20.9
Filipinos where there's
140:22.9
really anger and
140:24.9
anger, right? So
140:26.9
one question that
140:28.9
I thought
140:30.9
about it is
140:32.9
in your opinion, how
140:34.9
and why do you think
140:36.9
the Filipinos allowed
140:38.9
the Marxists to get back
140:40.9
in power?
140:42.9
That's a good question.
140:44.9
Of course,
140:46.9
we can directly attribute this to
140:48.9
a shift in popular
140:50.9
perception of the Marcoses.
140:52.9
But
140:54.9
how did that shift happen?
140:56.9
First of all,
140:58.9
and it's not just limited to the
141:00.9
political situation
141:02.9
in the Philippines. This has been going on for a
141:04.9
long time. This idea
141:08.9
that stems from
141:10.9
20th century philosophy,
141:12.9
where there are many
141:14.9
viewpoints, and each viewpoint is
141:16.9
just as valid as all the others.
141:18.9
There was an
141:20.9
idea of alternate truths.
141:22.9
And this is something that we've heard
141:24.9
a lot about over the past few
141:26.9
years. But the problem
141:28.9
with this is that
141:30.9
a lot of the time, it's more
141:32.9
emotionally based.
141:36.9
The actual
141:38.9
data is not returned.
141:40.9
And the problem
141:42.9
there is, especially
141:44.9
in social media, when all of this
141:46.9
upheaval happened,
141:48.9
where much of this upheaval happened,
141:50.9
this shift of mindset happened,
141:52.9
social media happens to be
141:54.9
conducive to influencing
141:56.9
emotional reactions.
141:58.9
And as we've seen, the science shows
142:00.9
and studies time again have shown
142:02.9
that people tend to
142:04.9
make decisions. People aren't
142:06.9
rational to begin with. We make
142:08.9
decisions based on emotion
142:10.9
so that when we see
142:12.9
opinions or
142:14.9
information
142:16.9
online that we are comfortable with
142:18.9
or seem to make sense given our
142:20.9
worldview, we tend to pile up on it.
142:22.9
And social media is really good at creating
142:24.9
these echo chambers that continue to
142:26.9
build up
142:30.9
or making it difficult, rather,
142:32.9
to make
142:34.9
the actual data behind
142:36.9
them manifested or shown.
142:38.9
That's one.
142:40.9
And that's also how, say, climate change
142:42.9
continues to be a hot
142:44.9
topic despite the fact that the science
142:46.9
is settled.
142:48.9
But another aspect there is,
142:50.9
and what's very devious about it is
142:52.9
sometimes you don't even have to
142:54.9
debunk the facts outright.
142:56.9
Sometimes all that's necessary
142:58.9
is to plant doubt
143:00.9
in the veracity of those facts.
143:02.9
And we've seen this happen
143:04.9
with big tobacco companies.
143:06.9
If we look at the history of
143:08.9
tobacco companies from the 1960s
143:10.9
onwards, at the time
143:12.9
when studies came out
143:14.9
that there was a correlation between
143:16.9
smoking and cancer,
143:18.9
all it took for
143:20.9
big tobacco to
143:22.9
survive and continue to profit
143:24.9
was to come out with
143:26.9
rival studies not debunking
143:28.9
those studies but saying, hey,
143:30.9
our studies have found that other things can
143:32.9
also cause cancer, like
143:34.9
the fabric in
143:36.9
your chair or something like that.
143:38.9
So how sure are you that
143:40.9
it's smoking that actually causes
143:42.9
cancer? So parang ganoon.
143:44.9
So what does this have to do with the
143:46.9
Philippines?
143:48.9
Despite the wealth of evidence out
143:50.9
there and even old news reports
143:52.9
about
143:54.9
the immunodeficiency for one
143:56.9
and everything, all it takes
143:58.9
is material
144:00.9
that is emotionally
144:02.9
resonant with
144:04.9
your viewers
144:06.9
or with your readers to make them
144:08.9
if not question
144:10.9
the data,
144:12.9
the actual, factual
144:14.9
information, then to
144:16.9
question, then to
144:18.9
adopt the mindset na
144:20.9
lahat naman yan, chismis
144:22.9
lang. And which is why,
144:24.9
which dovetails into the recent controversy
144:26.9
of Alacruz. I have to say, before
144:28.9
I continue,
144:30.9
I sympathize and I really
144:32.9
do not, I've gone through it
144:34.9
myself. I know what
144:36.9
it's like to be piled
144:38.9
on social media. And I
144:40.9
strongly disagree with all the
144:42.9
vitriol that was lobbied at her.
144:44.9
But I do have to say
144:46.9
na damaging din yung sinabi
144:48.9
niya. And it should,
144:50.9
mali yung pag-pile
144:52.9
on, but it is proper na
144:54.9
ma-clarify yung point na
144:56.9
history is
144:58.9
not like chismis.
145:00.9
Because historians
145:02.9
do research, they base
145:04.9
their, even if, there is
145:06.9
some people are saying na that
145:08.9
chismis, are defending
145:10.9
it by pointing out
145:12.9
people, pundits who have said
145:14.9
that chismis is
145:16.9
kasaysayan ngayon.
145:18.9
Chismis noon, kasaysayan ngayon.
145:20.9
Or arguing rather
145:22.9
that ginagamit
145:24.9
naman din ng chismis sa
145:26.9
kasaysayan. But
145:28.9
I have to say, there is a difference
145:30.9
and this will go back to your first question.
145:32.9
There is a big difference between
145:34.9
saying that
145:36.9
history is like chismis
145:38.9
and saying that chismis is part
145:40.9
of history. The latter is true,
145:42.9
the former isn't. Because
145:44.9
pag sinabing may chismis, ano itong
145:46.9
nangyari? The point, the
145:48.9
what a historian does is to dig
145:50.9
through the truth. Figure out,
145:52.9
is there a basis for this contention?
145:54.9
Yes or no? How
145:56.9
possible, how feasible, how true is
145:58.9
this chismis? And then incorporate it.
146:00.9
And even commenting on that
146:02.9
fact. People are
146:04.9
saying, this kind of
146:06.9
gossip surrounded this person at this particular
146:08.9
point in time. Why
146:10.9
did that come out in the first place? What
146:12.9
were the social forces
146:14.9
that made people whisper
146:16.9
these things about this person, regardless of whether it's true or not.
146:18.9
That is actual history. But to say
146:20.9
that history
146:22.9
is like chismis in the sense that
146:24.9
it's all just a matter of opinion,
146:26.9
ano, yun yung delikado.
146:28.9
And that goes all the way back to this
146:30.9
na ang problema, precisely
146:32.9
because of social media
146:34.9
the way it is now, and the
146:36.9
way we tend to treat
146:38.9
information
146:40.9
that arrives to us
146:42.9
through social media and elsewhere, it is
146:44.9
so much easier now to
146:46.9
gloss over the facts
146:48.9
and to gravitate
146:50.9
towards,
146:52.9
to go away from
146:54.9
inconvenient truths and to migrate towards
146:56.9
convenient lies.
146:58.9
Kasi I've been
147:00.9
thinking about
147:02.9
this, kasi a lot of
147:04.9
a lot of
147:06.9
common answers is parang
147:08.9
goes to
147:10.9
the parang flow na parang
147:12.9
ano, kasi ang bubobo
147:14.9
ng mga Pilipino, which is, hindi ako na niniwala
147:16.9
na bubobo ang mga Pilipino.
147:18.9
Parang
147:20.9
there's gotta be
147:22.9
a different explanation, kasi
147:24.9
I think meron
147:26.9
collective wisdom parin
147:28.9
kasi one,
147:30.9
we don't know how everybody lives.
147:32.9
And also,
147:34.9
yung
147:36.9
do you think
147:38.9
ganon talaga katinde
147:40.9
yung
147:42.9
yung
147:44.9
yung ginawa nilang
147:46.9
yung ginawa nilang
147:48.9
let's just call it
147:50.9
propaganda, kasi yun ang tinatawag
147:52.9
ng internet, diba?
147:54.9
So,
147:56.9
I know it's
147:58.9
some people are contending
148:00.9
contend, anong word don?
148:02.9
Trying to contend it yung
148:04.9
yung 31 million,
148:06.9
diba? Ganon talaga kadami
148:08.9
yung naloko?
148:10.9
Well, as far as, if we're going to base
148:12.9
ourselves on the election
148:14.9
data, and how the
148:16.9
election itself was conducted,
148:18.9
as far as I understand and know,
148:20.9
it was a fair election. So, these people
148:22.9
did vote. Parang walang
148:24.9
kung may
148:26.9
mag-argue man na
148:28.9
dinaya in the sense na the
148:30.9
voting was rigged or padded
148:32.9
somewhere, I don't
148:34.9
see, I'm not aware of any evidence
148:36.9
to that point.
148:38.9
He did win,
148:40.9
Marcos did win fair and square.
148:42.9
But the thing there,
148:44.9
and I think to the point of your question,
148:46.9
is,
148:48.9
were these votes from
148:50.9
people who actually wanted
148:52.9
that to happen? Yes, I suppose so.
148:54.9
But the question then is, what
148:56.9
gravitated them towards him?
148:58.9
And I think, that goes back
149:00.9
to what I was saying earlier, a large part of it
149:02.9
is public perception,
149:04.9
public
149:06.9
perception of him. And there are
149:08.9
ways that that was influenced
149:10.9
over the past several years.
149:12.9
One of them, of course, is
149:14.9
casting doubt in the public
149:16.9
arena, public sphere of
149:18.9
whether or not the cases
149:20.9
against them,
149:22.9
not just him, but Marcos in general,
149:24.9
if this had actually been decided in
149:26.9
court. And then, of
149:28.9
course, vilifying,
149:30.9
casting a
149:32.9
negative light on opponents, etc.
149:34.9
So, a large part of
149:36.9
this is how social
149:38.9
media was,
149:40.9
has been, and continues to be
149:42.9
weaponized.
149:44.9
Yes. Because
149:46.9
me, we're
149:48.9
both around the same age,
149:50.9
we grew up
149:52.9
in the Philippines,
149:54.9
where
149:56.9
we know
149:58.9
history, that the Marcoses
150:00.9
were a corrupt family,
150:02.9
and we had
150:04.9
a revolution and threw them
150:06.9
out. And
150:08.9
me, as
150:10.9
a person from that
150:12.9
generation, I believe it, right?
150:14.9
I believe it. Although,
150:16.9
in a way,
150:18.9
BBM
150:22.9
is not
150:24.9
really
150:26.9
his father, right? Although, of course,
150:28.9
what we're saying is
150:30.9
that he was also influenced
150:32.9
by what
150:34.9
the Marcoses did.
150:36.9
And it's just really
150:38.9
like,
150:40.9
how...
150:42.9
So, basically, your answer
150:44.9
is
150:46.9
the
150:48.9
machinery and
150:50.9
they just worked on
150:52.9
creating
150:54.9
a new persona for their
150:56.9
entire family. Providing an
150:58.9
alternate perspective of
151:00.9
themselves. Yes.
151:02.9
Yes.
151:04.9
What was the point that I was
151:06.9
going to... What was the point I was supposed
151:08.9
to raise?
151:10.9
Because like that,
151:12.9
it's
151:14.9
okay, I think. It's okay to
151:16.9
question
151:18.9
or even to be skeptical
151:20.9
of what actually happened.
151:22.9
There is a certain grain of truth to
151:24.9
when one says, I wasn't there,
151:26.9
I don't know. But the problem
151:28.9
also is, and also this is partly
151:30.9
because of how social media functions
151:32.9
and how we consume social media,
151:34.9
is instead of
151:36.9
going through
151:38.9
the information, through the data
151:40.9
and actually arriving at
151:42.9
objective answers,
151:44.9
the tendency is that we tend to
151:46.9
get carried away by
151:48.9
emotional stories.
151:50.9
Oh, they were humiliated.
151:52.9
Oh, the Aquinas
151:54.9
are evil because they're oligarchs.
151:56.9
Yes.
151:58.9
Perhaps there's a kernel
152:00.9
of truth to some of this, but
152:02.9
instead of looking through
152:04.9
the historical data
152:06.9
and looking at what this
152:08.9
has to show us,
152:10.9
we tend to gravitate towards
152:12.9
an emotional response.
152:14.9
Which narratives
152:18.9
suit us best, which ones we're comfortable
152:20.9
with, instead of the ones that are true but
152:22.9
uncomfortable.
152:24.9
Another idea of mine is
152:26.9
I think
152:28.9
there's
152:30.9
also a big chunk of
152:32.9
Filipinos
152:34.9
who voted
152:36.9
not because they were deceived,
152:38.9
they're fully aware that
152:40.9
they know,
152:42.9
that was
152:44.9
what we knew.
152:46.9
And who
152:48.9
believed that the Marxists
152:50.9
did that.
152:52.9
But despite, they still voted
152:54.9
despite.
152:56.9
That's why they voted.
152:58.9
So, is it
153:00.9
hate towards the opposition
153:02.9
or maybe, what do you think?
153:04.9
I honestly don't think,
153:06.9
I don't think I'm in a position to
153:08.9
talk about everyone.
153:10.9
But what I'm about to say, I'm not
153:12.9
even sure how much of this,
153:14.9
how much, how large
153:16.9
percentage of
153:18.9
this particular segment of voters
153:20.9
applies to, but I think
153:22.9
people also got fed up.
153:24.9
Some people parang,
153:26.9
okay,
153:28.9
masama yung mga Marcos,
153:30.9
but we've had, and you hear
153:32.9
this refrain a lot on social media, but we've had
153:34.9
decades to
153:36.9
change, but nothing has changed.
153:38.9
So, I wouldn't be surprised if
153:40.9
there's a large portion of voters who
153:42.9
did
153:44.9
so out of spite. Wala palang
153:46.9
nangyari.
153:48.9
What else?
153:50.9
Of all people
153:52.9
talagang, parang,
153:54.9
obviously, pinlano nalang yan.
153:56.9
We need to regain
153:58.9
or at least
154:00.9
get our revenge.
154:02.9
To put it bluntly, I'm sure
154:04.9
somebody else can come up with
154:06.9
a more
154:08.9
tawag doon,
154:10.9
mas magandang
154:12.9
pagkakasabi.
154:14.9
But,
154:16.9
kapag parang or at least
154:18.9
redeem the reputation
154:20.9
that they lost
154:22.9
or in their
154:24.9
eyes, it's talagang,
154:26.9
kasi that's as humiliating as
154:28.9
it gets. You used to
154:30.9
be in power, then you fall
154:32.9
from grace.
154:36.9
I think
154:38.9
it's a decade
154:40.9
long na
154:42.9
quest for the Marcoses
154:44.9
and I
154:46.9
wasn't just
154:48.9
sure if they believe
154:50.9
they can eventually do it
154:52.9
and they actually did.
154:56.9
Wow!
154:58.9
You can't write that shit.
155:00.9
I can't put myself in their
155:02.9
shoes but if that
155:04.9
had happened to me, I don't know
155:06.9
where else to go but in that direction.
155:08.9
You would fight
155:10.9
tooth and nail to regain
155:12.9
lost glory
155:14.9
if you're in that situation.
155:20.9
Nangyari talaga eh.
155:22.9
This is
155:24.9
parang ano eh,
155:26.9
parang siyang
155:28.9
fiction na, alam mo yun,
155:30.9
novella na
155:32.9
well, but if you look back
155:34.9
in history, stranger things
155:36.9
have happened eh.
155:38.9
Yung mga kwento ng
155:40.9
medieval kings
155:42.9
and queens, diba?
155:44.9
So I suppose it's not as
155:46.9
wow.
155:50.9
Interesting nga.
155:52.9
I wonder what historians like a century
155:54.9
from now will say about
155:56.9
pero nga, I think
155:58.9
social media in particular
156:00.9
has played a large
156:02.9
role in this
156:04.9
dynamic.
156:06.9
Yeah.
156:08.9
Right now,
156:10.9
frankly, on a personal level, I'm just
156:12.9
on a wait and see kind of thing.
156:18.9
The vote didn't go my way but we live in a democracy
156:20.9
and that's
156:22.9
the vote that came up but
156:24.9
the thing is, ano din naman, one thing
156:26.9
is for certain and this is something
156:28.9
that I think people should
156:30.9
remember din.
156:32.9
Regardless of who
156:34.9
won, dapat
156:36.9
lagi tayong critical and
156:38.9
analytical.
156:40.9
Even if things went our way
156:42.9
and whoever candidate
156:44.9
you voted for won,
156:46.9
that doesn't mean
156:48.9
you don't, ano,
156:50.9
you don't,
156:52.9
that doesn't mean you don't question what they do,
156:54.9
that doesn't mean you don't scrutinize
156:56.9
what they do.
156:58.9
Mayroon pa ko isang tanong. I just thought about this now.
157:00.9
Do you think it is possible
157:02.9
that the
157:04.9
vitriol wasn't exactly
157:06.9
against the
157:08.9
opposition?
157:10.9
Kasi sa totoo lang, wala na namang power
157:12.9
sa sinabang natitira sa
157:14.9
opposition.
157:16.9
Sina Trillanes, sina Drilon,
157:18.9
sina Drilon, parang wala na sila
157:20.9
sa, hindi na sila kasing lakas
157:22.9
nung dati, di ba? At least
157:24.9
in my, in how I
157:26.9
see it, di ba? Kasi wala,
157:28.9
parang
157:30.9
numbered na sila, di ba?
157:32.9
Could it be
157:34.9
to the,
157:36.9
parang,
157:38.9
how would I
157:40.9
word it?
157:42.9
Could it be a fuck you, not to the
157:44.9
politicians, but to the
157:46.9
ruling class or
157:48.9
elite class
157:50.9
na, let's
157:52.9
admit it, nakakahiyaman nun yung
157:54.9
mga ibang, yung ibang mga posts talaga
157:56.9
sa Facebook talagang ano eh,
157:58.9
parang matapobre talaga eh,
158:00.9
di ba? Mayroon pang Facebook page
158:02.9
matapobre for Lenny, mayroon gano'n, parang
158:04.9
Actually, yun yung
158:06.9
problema, again, I think
158:08.9
a part of the problem
158:10.9
is again through the echo chambers that
158:12.9
social media creates.
158:14.9
In that particular case,
158:16.9
di ba, let's
158:18.9
be frank, mayroon din
158:20.9
talagang mga, nakita
158:22.9
natin na mga tao
158:24.9
on that side of the fence
158:26.9
na naging matapobre.
158:28.9
But these don't necessarily reflect
158:30.9
the vast majority.
158:32.9
To be fair, the same can be said of the other
158:34.9
camp na hindi naman lahat ng
158:36.9
tao sa kampo ng kabila
158:38.9
eh rabid
158:40.9
pro-Marcos, di ba?
158:42.9
Or, you know, FU. But the thing is,
158:44.9
precisely because of the nature of social media,
158:46.9
they pick out
158:48.9
these small things and amplify them
158:50.9
and broadcast them
158:52.9
to the point na as came out
158:54.9
is, ano, kahit na hindi
158:56.9
totoo na matapobre lahat ng
158:58.9
pro-Lenny, because
159:00.9
na-amplify ng social media yung ilan
159:02.9
na gano'n. And even if it's rectified,
159:04.9
and I know for a fact na napagsabihan
159:06.9
ng ibang ganyan, huwag kayong ganyan
159:08.9
kasi ang sama nito. The damage is
159:10.9
done. It gets carried away. And that's what
159:12.9
people take away from it. So, even if
159:14.9
most people are good-natured
159:16.9
and good-hearted, all it takes is that
159:18.9
one incident that's amplified through
159:20.9
social media, na matate na yung
159:22.9
now ng mga tao, completely against you.
159:24.9
Yes. Sometimes kasi may
159:26.9
ibang na-babasa ko
159:28.9
sa mga friends ko na pa,
159:30.9
Dude, di naman ganyan ang pagkakilala ko sa'yo.
159:32.9
Diba? Parang
159:34.9
they're talking out of character
159:36.9
talaga. And I don't know
159:38.9
kung anong iniisip nila.
159:40.9
Pero parang this
159:42.9
is not the messaging that we
159:44.9
want. Diba? Kasi
159:46.9
ang
159:48.9
advantage kasi sa BBM,
159:50.9
kaya nilang gawin yun
159:52.9
kasi lamang sila eh. Diba?
159:54.9
Parang kung basketball yan,
159:56.9
lamang ka ng sinkwenta.
159:58.9
You can afford
160:00.9
kahit 10 turnovers.
160:02.9
Maagawan ka or
160:04.9
hindi ka makashoot. Okay lang
160:06.9
kasi lamang ka pa rin. Pero
160:08.9
kung ikaw yung naghahabol, you can't afford
160:10.9
those kinds of blunders.
160:12.9
And unfortunately,
160:14.9
yung emotion
160:16.9
of a lot of our
160:18.9
some of my friends
160:20.9
really got the better of them.
160:22.9
Yun.
160:24.9
And now, we are
160:26.9
we await to see
160:28.9
what's gonna happen.
160:30.9
I think the proper
160:32.9
stance, and that is a
160:34.9
completely separate issue.
160:36.9
Regardless of who is in power,
160:38.9
we are not beholden to it.
160:40.9
Na dapat lagi talaga tayong
160:42.9
critical.
160:44.9
And that's something that I think
160:46.9
we also have to grow beyond.
160:48.9
Na
160:50.9
kasi ang
160:52.9
laging refrain na nakakapagod,
160:54.9
ikaw naman muna, parang ang dami mong reklamo.
160:56.9
Pero hindi, that's the point.
160:58.9
You, especially
161:00.9
whoever is in power, you need to
161:02.9
be critical because that's a counterbalance.
161:04.9
Hindi ito
161:06.9
hindi ito, hindi tayo
161:08.9
serfs eh. Hindi ito kingdom
161:10.9
na God-given right
161:12.9
ang pamahalaan kami. So, you
161:14.9
know everything, and
161:16.9
I don't deserve to have a say.
161:18.9
Hindi ito to. Mas laging
161:20.9
especially, and this is something that
161:22.9
I'm sure that at least you and I
161:24.9
and more than a few of our listeners would know
161:26.9
is, you know, we pay our taxes eh.
161:28.9
We have every right to demand where those taxes
161:30.9
go.
161:32.9
Yeah.
161:34.9
Pero ano talaga eh, it's still
161:36.9
mind-boggling na parang wow,
161:38.9
we are living in a simulation.
161:40.9
Diba?
161:42.9
Kasi pare, dati
161:44.9
unimaginable na for the Marcosis
161:46.9
to come back eh. Parang hindi, tapos na yan.
161:48.9
Mga, thinking
161:50.9
about this in the early
161:52.9
2000s, parang that's impossible
161:54.9
na, diba? Ang daming, actually, well
161:56.9
hindi lang yun, I mean
161:58.9
since we're talking about simulations
162:00.9
and what not, even the idea
162:02.9
of social
162:04.9
media as being a
162:06.9
breeding ground for
162:08.9
mistruths, ano?
162:10.9
I remember
162:12.9
an interview with Bill Gates
162:14.9
I think at some point, this was late
162:16.9
90s or early 2000s
162:18.9
nga. Parang at that
162:20.9
time, diba, golden age na internet,
162:22.9
everyone is extolling the virtues of
162:24.9
going online, being able to access
162:26.9
information anywhere, and me,
162:28.9
half-jokingly, he was told
162:30.9
na, ano na,
162:32.9
so that means anyone can post, parang he was saying
162:34.9
of course that it levels the playing field because
162:36.9
we can all share information
162:38.9
and access information, but someone said
162:40.9
okay, so that means anyone can post
162:42.9
some lie and propagate it, and
162:44.9
he laughed it off and said
162:46.9
no, there'll be checks and balances ganyan.
162:48.9
And sure enough,
162:50.9
we see that right
162:52.9
today, that world happening and
162:54.9
those checks and balances not
162:56.9
coming through.
162:58.9
So, yeah.
163:00.9
I think
163:02.9
one way
163:04.9
that keeps, one thing that keeps me sane
163:06.9
is
163:08.9
thinking that in the same way that
163:10.9
we could not have predicted this to happen,
163:12.9
we also don't know
163:14.9
how things, definitely
163:16.9
things will change, and we don't know how they'll
163:18.9
change, but hopefully for the better
163:20.9
in the future, somewhere
163:22.9
along the line, the next
163:24.9
new paradigm, a
163:26.9
paradigm shift will happen and the next
163:28.9
new thing after Facebook and social
163:30.9
media will come along. We don't
163:32.9
know what it will be, where it will come from, but
163:34.9
things will change.
163:36.9
Yeah.
163:38.9
Probably not, probably not
163:40.9
metaverse.
163:42.9
We don't know.
163:44.9
Have you heard,
163:46.9
have you heard this,
163:48.9
mayroon akong
163:50.9
napakinggan
163:52.9
from a podcast
163:54.9
suggesting
163:56.9
that maybe we
163:58.9
live in a simulation,
164:00.9
and the simulation has already
164:02.9
ended.
164:04.9
At kaya ngayon,
164:06.9
oh diba,
164:08.9
ngayon biglang subjectivist
164:10.9
reality na yung nangyayari,
164:12.9
diba, nagsisimula na,
164:14.9
padlaki na siya ng palaki, and then
164:16.9
eto, the marxists are back
164:18.9
in power, diba,
164:20.9
parang dati hindi ko ma-imagine na mangyayari
164:22.9
yun, tapos may mga siraulong
164:24.9
president, the US president
164:26.9
is senile, diba, parang
164:28.9
diba hindi na siya mukha ano eh,
164:30.9
tapos siya pa rin yung tatakbo
164:32.9
daw, so bakit
164:34.9
parang dati hindi naman ganun ng pagkatapos
164:36.9
na baka nga tapos na yung
164:38.9
kumbaga we have already achieved
164:40.9
the achievement. Someone out there pulled the plug
164:42.9
on the simulation. Hindi, just let it
164:44.9
kumbaga just let it run
164:46.9
kasi parang siguro the end
164:48.9
the ending is
164:50.9
supposed to be parang
164:52.9
siguro
164:54.9
nuclear power,
164:56.9
diba, how long will this
164:58.9
will this simulation
165:00.9
this civilization get
165:02.9
to the point where they can create
165:04.9
nuclear power, diba,
165:06.9
tapos na, okay na.
165:08.9
So tapos na, kasi when you get nuclear power
165:10.9
parang you can end your own civilization
165:12.9
easily, diba, so
165:14.9
pag ganun, ah tapos na
165:16.9
tapos ngayon we are just flailing
165:18.9
One of the things that
165:20.9
history also shows us is
165:22.9
ako that's how I like to think of it
165:24.9
the future is oftentimes
165:26.9
ah
165:28.9
no, it's almost
165:30.9
always different from what we
165:32.9
expect it to be, which is
165:34.9
for me at least a blessing and a curse because
165:36.9
it means that
165:38.9
things will not turn out as bad as
165:40.9
we expect
165:42.9
but sometimes it will
165:44.9
turn out in ways that we don't really
165:46.9
well expect and want either
165:48.9
kasi katulad nga, sure
165:50.9
we're laughing tongue in cheek now
165:52.9
and oh doomsday, we're going
165:54.9
to hell but remember
165:56.9
in the 80s how
165:58.9
at the height of the cold war, no, it was
166:00.9
a very real possibility that
166:02.9
mad would happen mutually
166:04.9
and disaster, ano, diba
166:06.9
mutually assisted destruction
166:08.9
everyone would bomb everyone else
166:10.9
that was a very real possibility
166:12.9
and you might remember that even
166:14.9
as early as the 50s, shortly after
166:16.9
World War II, people
166:18.9
at least in first world countries like the US
166:20.9
were so paranoid na gumagwas rin ng bunkers
166:22.9
and you had
166:24.9
PSAs
166:26.9
telling people to duck when
166:28.9
there's a bomb, etc.
166:30.9
mayroong mga tawag doon yung
166:32.9
bomb siren, diba? Exactly, diba?
166:34.9
What this tells me is
166:36.9
kung ilalagayin natin ito sa ringin natin nun
166:38.9
these people, the people who
166:40.9
lived during those times, parang shit
166:42.9
ang sama talaga ng mundo, nothing could
166:44.9
possibly be worse, but two things
166:46.9
one, we survived that, things
166:48.9
did improve, and even if
166:50.9
things went to hell, if you could say
166:52.9
things went to shit now, diba?
166:54.9
Humanity will still
166:56.9
survive in one way
166:58.9
or another, we just don't know in what
167:00.9
direction. Well
167:02.9
something you always say
167:04.9
it's a cycle, parang
167:06.9
great men create
167:08.9
ano? Weak men create
167:10.9
strong... Weak men
167:12.9
create bad times, bad times
167:14.9
create strong men
167:16.9
strong men create
167:18.9
good times
167:20.9
then good times create
167:22.9
weak men
167:24.9
ang tawag nila dun is
167:26.9
what's it called?
167:28.9
oh my god, I forgot
167:30.9
basta
167:32.9
mayroong pang isa
167:34.9
parang
167:36.9
it's a different
167:38.9
may ibang tawag doon
167:40.9
pero parang
167:42.9
supplemental sya
167:44.9
almost the same
167:46.9
saying, the great turning
167:48.9
the great turning
167:50.9
it says na every
167:52.9
a few generations
167:54.9
there will
167:56.9
magkakaroon ng
167:58.9
ng
168:00.9
something
168:02.9
significant that will happen
168:04.9
either a war
168:06.9
that would change
168:08.9
everything in the world
168:10.9
like dati
168:12.9
I don't know if
168:14.9
dati kasi civil war
168:16.9
sa US
168:18.9
about 80 years later
168:20.9
yung
168:22.9
the great wars, diba?
168:24.9
the 30 year war, 1st and 2nd
168:26.9
world war, diba? and now
168:28.9
we are due for the next
168:30.9
diba? kasi
168:32.9
almost
168:34.9
80 years or 90 years in
168:36.9
after the 2nd world war
168:38.9
possible?
168:40.9
it's possible?
168:42.9
I won't profess to know
168:44.9
enough about current events and
168:46.9
political theory and even game theory
168:48.9
to say, but
168:50.9
I personally think
168:52.9
without delving too deeply that
168:54.9
yeah, I agree, we're long overdue
168:56.9
and it's possible that such a
168:58.9
thing might happen
169:00.9
if we look back to world war 1
169:02.9
we see how
169:04.9
how
169:06.9
societies in Europe painted themselves into a
169:08.9
corner without really
169:10.9
understanding it, diba?
169:12.9
that's how world war 1 started, right?
169:14.9
nagkaroon ng alliances, long story short
169:16.9
there were alliances built between
169:18.9
nations
169:20.9
nung pinatay yung
169:22.9
head of nung isa, damay damay na
169:24.9
kasi, uy, diba, meron tayong agreement
169:26.9
kampi ka sakin, ganyan, so
169:28.9
it was a domino effect, diba?
169:30.9
something like that could be happening now
169:32.9
yeah, especially
169:34.9
the tensions ng Russia, Ukraine
169:36.9
and then China,
169:38.9
world war 1, diba?
169:40.9
alam mo, sinasabi ko nga parate,
169:42.9
kung magigyera na, magyera na
169:44.9
ngayon hanggat nakakatakbo pa ako
169:46.9
hahahaha
169:48.9
hanggat nakakatakbo pa ako
169:50.9
malaman nga, hindi na nga ako baka takbo nung malayo
169:52.9
pag nagkagera-gera
169:54.9
isa akong sa unang mamatay
169:56.9
what I find, well, you know
169:58.9
kaysa yung uugut-ugut ka na dun sa kapag naggera
170:00.9
actually, medyo naisip ko rin yun
170:02.9
kasi ako, my grandfather
170:04.9
was a world war 2
170:06.9
veteran, actually
170:08.9
tiniente siya nung gera
170:10.9
he was just barely in his early 20s
170:12.9
survived death march
170:14.9
incarceration fort Santiago, everything
170:16.9
so, I grew up
170:18.9
in awe of
170:20.9
what he went through
170:22.9
I think it says a lot
170:24.9
until the day he passed away
170:26.9
sa kanya, ang buong buhay niya
170:28.9
at ang buong pananaw niya sa buhay
170:30.9
was divided between
170:32.9
pre-war and
170:34.9
post-war, as in, like, we would be watching
170:36.9
a TV show, and then merong
170:38.9
actor, ah, pre-war
170:40.9
pa yan, artista na yan
170:42.9
or like, Dolphy, I think at one
170:44.9
point he said, ano?
170:46.9
pre-war pa yan, pero
170:48.9
itong kasama niya, post-war lang
170:50.9
siya, but
170:52.9
looking back as an older person now, kasi that was
170:54.9
I was a kid when that happened, it made me
170:56.9
it made me profoundly
170:58.9
it was such a profound
171:00.9
realization na, isipin mo kung
171:02.9
gano kalaking trauma
171:04.9
yung gera sa kanya
171:06.9
noong time niya, na buong
171:08.9
everything, his whole life, seemed to
171:10.9
have that as a
171:12.9
focal point, that everything in his life was
171:14.9
before or after it, such a changing thing
171:16.9
but the thing is, going back to that
171:18.9
yung ugud-ugud, he was in his
171:20.9
early 20s then, he was in his 20s
171:22.9
and I imagine myself
171:24.9
what if, because we're at that point
171:26.9
if Nakon would, if war, if a
171:28.9
global, similar global war
171:30.9
happens now, we would be in the
171:32.9
same position as his, I don't know
171:34.9
dad or grand
171:36.9
grandpa, di ba na
171:38.9
and I remember his stories at the time, yan, he was
171:40.9
in the war, naggerilya pa siya at lahat
171:42.9
and his mom and his dad
171:44.9
were at home worrying about him
171:46.9
pag dumarating yung mga
171:48.9
mga hapon, wala, I mean
171:50.9
they could do nothing but just be
171:52.9
deferential and let them
171:54.9
pass through, di ba? So, we're in
171:56.9
that position too, so
171:58.9
parang hirap
172:00.9
isisipin yun, but
172:02.9
the interesting thing here, and here's the unknown
172:04.9
I don't think, again
172:06.9
granted that I am not a
172:08.9
social scientist
172:10.9
I don't profess to know
172:12.9
enough to be knowledgeable
172:14.9
completely knowledgeable, but parang ang layo
172:16.9
sa imagination ko that we would be
172:18.9
occupied by an invading force
172:20.9
like in World War II
172:22.9
my reason for saying this is because
172:24.9
that was a war for
172:26.9
resources, a physical war, di ba?
172:28.9
Now there are so many dimensions and so many
172:30.9
other
172:32.9
key factors na sa palagay ko
172:34.9
hindi na mangyayari yung merong
172:36.9
literal na maglalanding
172:38.9
sa beach natin like they
172:40.9
did before na troops
172:42.9
from a foreign country with a foreign flag
172:44.9
marching into our cities
172:46.9
but that also
172:48.9
so that's comforting on that level, but it's
172:50.9
also scary because what kind of
172:52.9
warfare are we facing
172:54.9
now, di ba? Drone warfare
172:56.9
cyber war
172:58.9
cyber war, di ba?
173:00.9
Those can be much more tricky
173:02.9
and they present
173:04.9
horrible scenarios
173:06.9
that we have not yet
173:08.9
fully considered. Some are arguing
173:10.9
even parang
173:12.9
World War III, we're not in
173:14.9
a hot war, parang
173:16.9
cold war na
173:18.9
sa cyber war kasi it could be
173:20.9
treated as a cold war, especially
173:22.9
in the US. Lagi silang may
173:24.9
allegations ng Russian
173:26.9
intervention from China din, di ba?
173:28.9
Spying and
173:30.9
yung allegations of rigging
173:32.9
elections to favor
173:34.9
certain candidates which is
173:36.9
very possible talaga. Di ba?
173:38.9
It's just malamang
173:40.9
it's a fact na. I don't
173:42.9
know if it's
173:44.9
how much of it is proven, pero
173:46.9
definitely you can sway
173:48.9
people's minds, di ba?
173:50.9
And
173:52.9
you'll never know
173:54.9
kasi you can
173:56.9
create an
173:58.9
ideological shift
174:00.9
and acting ko yun
174:02.9
ang nangyayari sa US
174:04.9
kasi nagshi-shift yung ideology
174:06.9
na to the point
174:08.9
na hindi na sila magkasundo, di ba?
174:10.9
Yung mga left
174:12.9
and right nila na parang
174:14.9
teka, masyadong na tayong malayo sa isa't
174:16.9
isa and then I don't know
174:18.9
kung magkaka-civil war sila, pero
174:20.9
and then
174:22.9
what will happen? How will the
174:24.9
world react to an American civil war?
174:26.9
Well, we really don't know
174:28.9
and being the
174:30.9
dominant, even until now
174:32.9
the world's dominant superpower
174:34.9
when it collapses, if it
174:36.9
collapses, when it collapses, if it happens
174:38.9
within our lives, we don't know what's going to fill that
174:40.9
vacuum. Di ba? Yun yung
174:42.9
iniisip ng mga tao, di ba? Parang
174:44.9
at the very
174:46.9
least, at least for now
174:48.9
America still, ano eh?
174:50.9
Still, yung liberty
174:52.9
is still a part of it, di ba?
174:54.9
Siyempre, America is not
174:56.9
perfect, pero
174:58.9
dalawa lang naman ang choices mo
175:00.9
sa China tsaka as of now
175:02.9
di ba? Kasi sila yung ano eh
175:04.9
sila yung
175:06.9
dalawang superpowers right now
175:08.9
and China
175:10.9
is, alam mo yun
175:12.9
an authoritarian
175:14.9
country na nung
175:16.9
COVID, kaya hindi ganun kataas
175:18.9
yung, well may mga cases
175:20.9
parin sa kanya, that people
175:22.9
were literally welded
175:24.9
in their, ano, their
175:26.9
compounds para hindi sila makalabas
175:28.9
para hindi mo makapagspread.
175:30.9
Di ba, hindi mo, tingin mo
175:32.9
the Philippine government
175:34.9
can do that here? What will, how
175:36.9
will the Filipinos
175:38.9
respond, di ba?
175:40.9
Interesting kasi
175:42.9
ano tayo eh.
175:46.9
Historically, ano,
175:48.9
ano, alay tayo ng US
175:50.9
and to a certain extent we still are, although
175:52.9
even if the past
175:54.9
administration has tried to
175:56.9
and I don't
175:58.9
mean this disparagingly to cozy up
176:00.9
to China, ano, but it's
176:02.9
interesting because, ano eh,
176:04.9
and yeah, I'm sure someone out there who's
176:06.9
more knowledgeable than I and
176:08.9
who is an actual honest
176:10.9
to goodness pundit on these things
176:12.9
would probably be able to weigh it more
176:14.9
but I find it interesting that
176:16.9
we
176:18.9
are
176:20.9
we are
176:22.9
neither here nor there at this point, I suppose
176:24.9
kasi unlike,
176:26.9
like say in World War II because we were
176:28.9
we were occupied by
176:30.9
the US, malinaw na ang
176:32.9
pag-occupy sa atin and
176:34.9
all the moves that happened thereafter
176:36.9
was in light of that
176:38.9
because we are a US
176:40.9
ally, right? Now,
176:42.9
we have been independent
176:44.9
for 50 years and
176:46.9
yes, of course, we still have ties with the
176:48.9
US, but
176:50.9
from what I can see and what limited understanding
176:52.9
I have, we're not
176:54.9
exactly there
176:56.9
we're not exactly, we're definitely
176:58.9
our ties with the US aren't as strong as they were
177:00.9
before when they had bases here, diba?
177:02.9
And then,
177:04.9
also this thing, cozying up with China
177:06.9
I don't know
177:08.9
I don't know how that will affect us if
177:10.9
if a global
177:12.9
if a third world war
177:14.9
happens, I don't know how that will affect us
177:16.9
charitably,
177:18.9
I think, I hope, you know, we would
177:20.9
end up as a neutral
177:22.9
country somehow, somewhere
177:24.9
in the same way that Switzerland does
177:26.9
but is
177:28.9
but I don't know, I don't know if there's enough
177:30.9
or if the cards are
177:32.9
if that's in the cards
177:34.9
but what I'm wondering right now is
177:36.9
kasi
177:38.9
we're, ano eh, we're
177:40.9
we're enjoying
177:42.9
a fairly amount
177:44.9
maganda, fairly good
177:46.9
amount of freedom
177:48.9
as a nation compared to
177:50.9
let's say China and other
177:52.9
yung mga authoritarian
177:54.9
countries talaga, diba?
177:56.9
Pero,
177:58.9
but this is all we know
178:00.9
especially in our lifetime, diba? Kasi
178:02.9
yun ang dun tayo pinanganak
178:04.9
and there's always been
178:06.9
this lingering criticism
178:08.9
about the Filipino people
178:10.9
na parang we are
178:12.9
hindi tayo, hindi natin
178:14.9
deserve ang ano, parang we
178:16.9
are too immature
178:18.9
to have democracy, to have
178:20.9
this kind of liberty, na parang
178:22.9
we are too stubborn and we are too
178:24.9
undisciplined for it, diba?
178:26.9
parang, tapos, di mo
178:28.9
and based
178:30.9
on the past administration
178:32.9
how people tolerated
178:34.9
yung mga tokhang, diba?
178:38.9
It makes me wonder, what if
178:40.9
kung
178:42.9
ano yun, parang
178:44.9
how would
178:46.9
Filipinos
178:48.9
deal with
178:50.9
a much more authoritarian
178:52.9
government
178:56.9
compared to what we have now
178:58.9
diba?
179:00.9
I see a facet
179:02.9
of what you're saying and I think that echoes
179:04.9
what you were saying earlier about the
179:06.9
cyclical nature
179:08.9
of society
179:10.9
nakakalungkot isipin
179:12.9
and I hope it doesn't reach that point
179:14.9
that
179:16.9
baka kailangan natin dumaan sa
179:18.9
isa pang mahigpit na diktadurya
179:20.9
para ma-realize ng mga tao, no
179:22.9
we don't,
179:24.9
this is not what should happen
179:26.9
diba? This shouldn't be happening
179:30.9
Broadly speaking
179:32.9
ang tanong ko is
179:34.9
ano kaya yung magiging tipping point
179:36.9
natin? At what
179:38.9
point do we shift towards a new
179:40.9
paradigm? And the scary
179:42.9
thing is waiting for that to happen. We don't know at
179:44.9
what point that will happen but sana it happens
179:46.9
sooner than later before things get
179:48.9
even worse than they are
179:50.9
diba? Kasi the worst would
179:52.9
the worst case would be
179:54.9
magkaroon ng diktadurya
179:56.9
as in yung lockdown
179:58.9
like people getting
180:00.9
sabaki it's already
180:02.9
happening now, matatakang diba?
180:04.9
But yun nga
180:06.9
something much worse, I don't know what that
180:08.9
would be but yun e, ano yung tipping
180:10.9
point for people to
180:12.9
care? I don't know. I think the lockdowns
180:14.9
yung mga COVID
180:16.9
lockdowns is a
180:18.9
is a parang ano e, parang
180:20.9
sampling kung how much
180:22.9
how much
180:24.9
ano bang
180:26.9
mas tamang word
180:28.9
how much control
180:30.9
we can give
180:32.9
willingly give to the government
180:34.9
e na parang how much
180:36.9
rights can we
180:38.9
can we willingly
180:40.9
parang give up to
180:42.9
for safety diba?
180:44.9
Yun yung ano sa debate sa COVID
180:46.9
dati sa mga lockdowns yung
180:48.9
safety or your freedom
180:50.9
diba? Like yung nangyari
180:52.9
sa no, sa
180:54.9
yung gusto nilang
180:56.9
gawin na yung no
180:58.9
no vaccine, no
181:00.9
no ride, no
181:02.9
vaccine, no ride diba?
181:04.9
Ako kasi parang
181:06.9
okay, okay sana
181:08.9
okay sana yung idea, yun nga lang
181:10.9
parang kung
181:12.9
at the same time
181:14.9
binurden mo lang yung ano e, yung tao
181:16.9
kasi aalis din yan e, maglalakad
181:18.9
din yan e, diba? So
181:20.9
parang for me it's a useless
181:22.9
useless effort
181:24.9
na parang ginagawa
181:26.9
mo lang para lang masabing may ginagawa
181:28.9
ka, diba? Kasi sa totoo
181:30.9
lang yung naging issue
181:32.9
yan kasi yung may matanda, yung may iyak siya
181:34.9
diba? Tapos bumumura niya yung ano
181:36.9
tapos naging viral siya, nagtitinda
181:38.9
siya. So
181:40.9
ang sinasabi niya
181:44.9
araw-araw siyang nagtitinda dun
181:46.9
tapos, ngayon hindi na siya
181:48.9
ang pinakaiba lang, hindi na siya nakasakay ng jeep
181:50.9
pero pumunta pa rin siya
181:52.9
diba? Kumbaga, ganun pa rin
181:54.9
kung may COVID siya, magkakalat
181:56.9
siya ng COVID, nagawa niya pa rin
181:58.9
minus hindi mo lang siya pinasakay ng jeep
182:00.9
diba? Parang useless din e
182:02.9
Kasi yun nga, parang
182:04.9
ang maraming nangyayari, and we see this
182:06.9
a lot in public infrastructure
182:08.9
mga stop gaps e, diba?
182:10.9
The bike lanes that we put in
182:12.9
they're half-hearted measures
182:14.9
I've seen, diba?
182:16.9
I've seen biker friends, sinasabi nila
182:18.9
yun, nagre-reklamo yung mga
182:20.9
yung mga gumagamit ng kotse
182:22.9
kasi, oh may bike lane na kayo pero dito pa rin kayo
182:24.9
pumapasok, apparently it's horribly
182:26.9
unusable. I myself, for instance
182:28.9
ano, I
182:30.9
used to live very near the MRT
182:32.9
and I would use, before it went
182:34.9
to shit
182:36.9
but even sa lagay na yun, back in the
182:38.9
2000s, it was
182:40.9
hindi ganun kakrowded but still shit, in the sense na
182:42.9
it's so difficult to
182:44.9
move from one station to other
182:46.9
and there are some stations where, like sa
182:48.9
Ortigas, diba?
182:50.9
Siksikan kayo na isang tao lang makakadaan
182:52.9
so halos wala
182:54.9
walang pedestrian
182:56.9
walkway, diba?
182:58.9
And frankly, this
183:00.9
I'm very keenly
183:02.9
aware of it also because I also happen
183:04.9
to have gout
183:06.9
so most of the time, I am
183:08.9
100% mobile
183:10.9
it doesn't affect me
183:12.9
most of the year, most of the time
183:14.9
but those times when it strikes
183:16.9
and I am cobbled and kulang na lang
183:18.9
mag-crutches ako
183:20.9
doon ko talaga
183:22.9
nararamdaman, I mean
183:24.9
like there's stupid
183:26.9
MRT stations like in
183:28.9
Guadalupe
183:30.9
for instance, where you have an
183:32.9
elevator na pero hanggang second
183:34.9
floor lang, tapos the rest is a stair
183:36.9
parang, pardon my French, pero
183:38.9
kutangina, naglagay ka pa ng elevator
183:40.9
but they put it in just for compliance
183:42.9
sake. So, you have so much of this
183:44.9
infrastructure and so many government
183:46.9
initiatives na
183:48.9
either half-hearted or
183:50.9
sige, compliance lang, diba?
183:52.9
So, how can
183:54.9
you expect taxpayers to
183:56.9
to trust
183:58.9
you and to
184:00.9
support you? Ganun eh.
184:02.9
But, going
184:04.9
back to my point earlier, parang
184:06.9
we had the taste of
184:08.9
those kinds of parang
184:10.9
mandates. Hindi, bawal ka mag-
184:12.9
bawal kang sumakay ng jeep, mga ganyan.
184:14.9
Diba? And surprisingly,
184:16.9
ano,
184:18.9
merong mga ayaw, diba?
184:20.9
Merong, okay, sige,
184:22.9
kasi makakahawa ka nga eh, diba?
184:24.9
Kasi madami pa rin takot sa COVID eh.
184:26.9
Madami pa rin talagang takot sa COVID eh.
184:28.9
So, parang
184:30.9
some people, kasi
184:32.9
to me ah, I look at it this way
184:34.9
these people,
184:36.9
yung, ako kasi,
184:38.9
I'm blessed to be in the position
184:40.9
where I am na, sometimes
184:42.9
pag may bibili kami sa mga
184:44.9
sa mga ganun,
184:46.9
mga nagtitinda sa banketa,
184:48.9
minsan di na namin kinukuwasokli eh.
184:50.9
Diba? Na parang,
184:52.9
yun yung mga tinutulungan mo. Yan yung mga,
184:54.9
yan nga yung mga pinaka-poverty porn mo eh.
184:56.9
Sa ano, sa mga YouTube videos,
184:58.9
the poverty porn. Tapos ngayon,
185:00.9
ayaw mong pasakayin ng
185:02.9
jeep, diba?
185:04.9
These are the people that you are supposed to be
185:06.9
who you claim na parang
185:08.9
kailangan mo, ano yun natin.
185:10.9
Kasi ng step gap, parang, okay,
185:12.9
kasi ano yun, katulad nyan,
185:14.9
if you don't allow them to ride,
185:16.9
if you don't allow people, not just them,
185:18.9
people in general, to ride jeeps,
185:20.9
sana merong suporta other than that.
185:22.9
And I'm not just talking about dole outs,
185:24.9
diba? There's so many things.
185:26.9
Even our telecommunications
185:28.9
infrastructure, for instance.
185:30.9
There was a case a while
185:32.9
back that I heard na dahil
185:34.9
online na yung mga classes,
185:36.9
pahirapan makasagap ng
185:38.9
signal, this poor kid
185:40.9
went out in the street, nasa gasaan,
185:42.9
kasi naghahanap siya ng signal
185:44.9
para makapag-online classes siya.
185:46.9
But that wouldn't have
185:48.9
been a problem in the first place if
185:50.9
telco infrastructure
185:52.9
was robust enough to support it.
185:54.9
And this whole thing about
185:56.9
commuting for a lot of people,
185:58.9
two things, several things actually.
186:00.9
One is if we had better telco
186:02.9
infrastructure, then people
186:04.9
didn't need to commute that far.
186:06.9
Napatunayan natin na kaya naman palang work from
186:08.9
home, it works.
186:10.9
And commuting infrastructure, if it was better
186:12.9
and easier to use,
186:14.9
more people would use it, it wouldn't be
186:16.9
such a problem. Pero ang nangyayari
186:18.9
nga is patsi-patsi.
186:20.9
Okay, mag-ano tayo,
186:22.9
parang merong COVID, let's keep
186:24.9
people from spreading it, so bad.
186:26.9
Wag na, pero...
186:28.9
Yung angkas kailangan may barrier, which is so stupid!
186:30.9
Sobrang stupid, diba?
186:32.9
Yung mga plastic barriers nga sa jeep,
186:34.9
diba? Anong nangyayari dyan?
186:36.9
Diba? With or without
186:38.9
that, pwede ka paring
186:40.9
maka-transmit, diba?
186:42.9
So, wag mo nalang,
186:44.9
wag ka nalang bumiyahe, diba? At least
186:46.9
di tayo mukhang tanga.
186:48.9
And unfortunately, a lot of people
186:50.9
don't have the privilege of that choice.
186:52.9
They really have to go out
186:54.9
to earn money. Exactly.
186:56.9
Ang mas pinagtataka ko
186:58.9
kasi dito is... Ah, hindi
187:00.9
pinagtataka. Mas na-amaze
187:02.9
ako is how people
187:04.9
can...
187:06.9
Kumbaga, parang yung mga
187:08.9
digitally
187:10.9
mababait na tao, all of a sudden
187:12.9
would turn their backs, diba?
187:14.9
Wag ka maglakad ka,
187:16.9
diba? Just because meron kang
187:18.9
may panakot
187:20.9
sila sa'yo na, hindi, kasi
187:22.9
COVID ka, diba? So,
187:24.9
ginev-up mo na yung, one, is your
187:26.9
compassion to
187:28.9
your fellow men. Minsan nga,
187:30.9
galit ka pa. Kailan yun kasi, kukulit
187:32.9
nyo yun, diba? Mga gano'ng ano, eh.
187:34.9
I find that very sad.
187:36.9
Yung shift na yun, yun ang
187:38.9
nakaka-
187:40.9
sa utak ko. Ako nalang lungkot ako na
187:42.9
parang nangyari
187:44.9
sa kultura natin, magkakanya-kanya tayo.
187:46.9
There's this tendency
187:48.9
at worst na parang, ah, nagaguhan
187:50.9
tayong lahat, eh, di, it's every man
187:52.9
for themselves, diba? And this is also,
187:54.9
we see this even with ano, eh,
187:56.9
with the tokhang, eh.
187:58.9
Okay lang mangyari yan, basta mawala
188:00.9
ang mga drugs, and hindi ako yung affected.
188:02.9
And that's how a lot of people
188:04.9
think, sadly.
188:06.9
And I can't even say I blame
188:08.9
people for doing this, kasi nga, kung yung
188:10.9
gobyerno mo nga, eh, hindi nagfa-function,
188:12.9
diba? I mean,
188:14.9
how, how
188:16.9
talagang mapupunta ka dun sa,
188:18.9
every man for themselves, no?
188:20.9
Just look out for number one, that's me, diba?
188:22.9
Ay, hirap. Mahirap.
188:24.9
So I think meron talagang ano, eh,
188:26.9
merong different kinds of people
188:28.9
na sometimes yung mga,
188:30.9
magugulat ako na ano, eh. Ako kasi,
188:32.9
being a libertarian,
188:34.9
I believe in ano, eh, in
188:36.9
in having
188:38.9
as much freedom as you can.
188:40.9
Your freedom to,
188:42.9
of course, within reason,
188:44.9
to exercise your rights,
188:46.9
diba? To, to have,
188:48.9
to have access, to help
188:50.9
yourself. Hindi naman,
188:52.9
kasi yung iba parang, ang ibang
188:54.9
mentality is, you should help
188:56.9
them all the time, help them all the time.
188:58.9
Sa akin, I wouldn't,
189:00.9
di ko naman tatanggihan
189:02.9
yun, yung mga tutulong sa akin, pero
189:04.9
give me,
189:06.9
give me adequate or
189:08.9
kung baga, yung sufficient
189:10.9
na kakayahan para gawin ko
189:12.9
yun para sarili ko. And if you're gonna,
189:14.9
let's say,
189:16.9
allow me to
189:18.9
protect myself, allow me to,
189:20.9
para let's say,
189:22.9
pag walang polis, kaya ako protect na sarili ko.
189:24.9
O kaya, kung,
189:26.9
kung yung
189:28.9
pagdating sa,
189:30.9
ah,
189:32.9
sa COVID kasi,
189:34.9
tricky yan, eh, kasi there are,
189:36.9
ano, eh, you should be able,
189:38.9
para sa akin, you should be able to,
189:40.9
to gauge your
189:42.9
risks.
189:44.9
If you're willing to
189:46.9
risk it, na
189:48.9
mag,
189:50.9
kasi madaming naapektuhan,
189:52.9
yung pinaka naapektuhan sa COVID, yung mga
189:54.9
bata, eh. Until now, hindi pa rin tayo
189:56.9
nag, they're still stuck at home,
189:58.9
diba?
189:59.9
I'm worried that I was face-to-face coming soon, diba?
190:01.9
Diba? Well,
190:03.9
nakaka-worry din yun,
190:05.9
pero you would also have to think
190:07.9
about, yung may
190:09.9
report na parang nine out of
190:11.9
ten Filipino children
190:13.9
at age ten cannot read.
190:15.9
Hindi marunong magbasa.
190:17.9
Directly attributed to
190:19.9
people not having face-to-face
190:21.9
classes. Isa yun sa mga
190:23.9
nagpa-spike nun talaga.
190:25.9
And, so what? We're just
190:27.9
gonna leave them like that?
190:29.9
And, ah,
190:31.9
kasi parang, ang nangyari kasi sa COVID,
190:33.9
ano, eh, it's, ah,
190:35.9
syempre,
190:37.9
there's no good way of
190:39.9
saying this kasi madaming
190:41.9
namatay sa COVID. Pero,
190:43.9
all throughout human history,
190:45.9
ah,
190:47.9
the elders, kasi
190:49.9
ang pinaka
190:51.9
lowest risk ng COVID
190:53.9
are the children, eh. Diba?
190:55.9
Highest risk ang mga
190:57.9
matanda. So, all throughout history,
190:59.9
the elders,
191:01.9
kabaga, they were
191:03.9
the ones who stormed
191:05.9
ah, beaches
191:07.9
para makapagpatayan
191:09.9
to protect their, ano, eh,
191:11.9
the younger generation. Diba?
191:13.9
Tapos, ganyan, baliktad,
191:15.9
it's the younger generation who are taking
191:17.9
the wrath of the, ah,
191:19.9
in mental health, in, ah,
191:21.9
yan, sa education,
191:23.9
yung social lives nila. Those are
191:25.9
lasting impacts
191:27.9
niyan, eh. To protect, naman,
191:29.9
the elders.
191:31.9
Diba? It's baliktad, baliktad
191:33.9
yung, at least in
191:35.9
my point, I can see it that
191:37.9
way. So, kabaga, parang
191:39.9
because many of the elders
191:41.9
are scared about
191:43.9
the virus.
191:47.9
Interesting perspective.
191:49.9
Ah,
191:51.9
ano din, eh. I think there's also
191:53.9
a dimension there where
191:55.9
if we think, if we
191:57.9
think about it, ano, eh, there's a
191:59.9
there's a wide gap
192:01.9
between generations.
192:03.9
Um,
192:05.9
matagal ng theory to, and I forgot
192:07.9
exactly who posited
192:09.9
it, eh, but, um,
192:11.9
kung titingnan natin yung growth ng
192:13.9
mga cultures around the world,
192:15.9
there's usually a,
192:17.9
ano, eh, a
192:19.9
transition of
192:21.9
knowledge and skills and
192:23.9
social, ah, awareness
192:25.9
as it were from one generation
192:27.9
to the next. Diba? In the sense na
192:29.9
that's why we look to elders, eh,
192:31.9
because essentially the idea is
192:33.9
they've seen a lot of the world,
192:35.9
they have an idea of what
192:37.9
works, what doesn't, so
192:39.9
let's learn from them, right?
192:41.9
But the problem,
192:43.9
ah, now, in the past
192:45.9
century, in the century and a half, is
192:47.9
that, ah, because of technological
192:49.9
advancement and social upheaval,
192:51.9
ah, so much
192:53.9
rapid change happens
192:55.9
within people's
192:57.9
lifetimes, na, ano, eh, na
192:59.9
hindi na necessarily
193:01.9
applicable yung, yung
193:03.9
natutunan ng isang generation
193:05.9
dun sa kabilang generation, so that,
193:07.9
that chain of, ano, of, ah,
193:09.9
of stewardship, of
193:11.9
mentorship is broken.
193:13.9
What, to put it more concretely,
193:15.9
um,
193:17.9
Gen Z, Gen
193:19.9
Y, this happened to Gen Y, and this is
193:21.9
I think more so, nag-umpisa
193:23.9
Gen X, Gen Y, and more so in Gen
193:25.9
Z now, na because
193:27.9
of so much social and
193:29.9
technological upheaval, the
193:31.9
world is so much more different
193:33.9
that they can't look to their
193:35.9
to their parents for
193:37.9
for comfort, eh, na
193:39.9
na it's a completely different
193:41.9
world with its own problems
193:43.9
that they are forced to deal
193:45.9
with, and it's not like
193:47.9
they have elders to turn to, to show
193:49.9
them the way, to say, to show what
193:51.9
what can and can't be done.
193:53.9
Right.
193:55.9
Like, example pa lang,
193:57.9
um,
193:59.9
like, tayo,
194:01.9
that cusp between Gen X and
194:03.9
Gen Y, Gen Y being the
194:05.9
generation, and generation na
194:07.9
na grew
194:09.9
up with, ano, with the technologies and
194:11.9
the internet, the millennial generation,
194:13.9
diba, right? All the social
194:15.9
upheaval that came with being
194:17.9
online, diba, these are something,
194:19.9
these are, these are things that
194:21.9
previous generations did not have to deal with.
194:23.9
So the anxiety that you felt
194:25.9
going online,
194:27.9
figuring out
194:29.9
what's
194:31.9
dangerous, what's not, etc.
194:33.9
These are, and all the whole
194:35.9
entire culture that grew out of that
194:37.9
is completely different
194:39.9
and something that no one has seen
194:41.9
before, so that generation has
194:43.9
been forced to live with that. Now imagine
194:45.9
what Gen Z is going through right now,
194:47.9
na they not just
194:49.9
From the get-go. From the get-go. Not only did they
194:51.9
grow up, they don't know a world
194:53.9
that does not have the internet. They also
194:55.9
don't know a world that does not have social media.
194:57.9
Diba? So
194:59.9
it must be very
195:01.9
bewildering for them.
195:03.9
Yung nga yung sinasabi ko kanina, diba, yung
195:05.9
parang, these are
195:07.9
machines that
195:09.9
were not really part of
195:11.9
the natural setup
195:13.9
ng mundo, diba? Tapos ngayon,
195:15.9
all of a sudden, there's an entire
195:17.9
generation who
195:19.9
were born into this world
195:21.9
na kasama yon, diba?
195:23.9
Kasi katulad niyan,
195:25.9
if you look back hundreds of years ago,
195:27.9
diba, kasi ano yun,
195:29.9
kung titignan natin,
195:31.9
kung titignan natin, diba, historically,
195:33.9
diba, centuries
195:35.9
ago, relatively mabagal yung
195:37.9
pagbago ng society. So
195:39.9
what your elders went through,
195:41.9
the kind of world that they grew up in, is
195:43.9
most likely the same world that you
195:45.9
grew up in too, diba? Na, oh,
195:47.9
nung kabataan ako, we
195:49.9
hunted this animal. Ganito yung paghunt
195:51.9
niyan, diba? Or
195:53.9
ganito yung, ano,
195:55.9
ganito yung pag-ani ng talay.
195:57.9
Hindi naman magbabago yan
195:59.9
from one generation to the next.
196:01.9
But several things have happened over the
196:03.9
last century and a half. New technologies,
196:05.9
not just communications technologies
196:07.9
like the telephone, TV,
196:09.9
radio, et cetera, but
196:11.9
technologies that have replaced
196:13.9
in a lot of ways the, ano,
196:15.9
human labor, diba?
196:17.9
Everything from
196:19.9
mechanized farms to
196:21.9
computers,
196:23.9
right? That have changed
196:25.9
how we, not just how we
196:27.9
communicate, but how we do business,
196:29.9
how we transact with each other.
196:31.9
And they've all changed,
196:33.9
they've all had these paradigm
196:35.9
shifts that occurred within
196:37.9
a generation or even less.
196:39.9
So ano nangyari? Hindi na po pwede yung,
196:41.9
oh, anak, wag ka mag-alala,
196:43.9
eto yung pinagdaanan ko,
196:45.9
ano, here's the way
196:47.9
to do it. Hindi na, a lot of it
196:49.9
is, ano, is, there's still
196:51.9
the generation that grows up
196:53.9
in that milieu still has to struggle with it.
196:55.9
And there's no one there to guide them.
196:57.9
It's, uh, it's not that
196:59.9
they, ano, eh, some people would
197:01.9
would, uh, parang
197:03.9
ignorantly
197:05.9
say they're not
197:07.9
relevant anymore. Kasi that's
197:09.9
where the disconnect will come, na parang
197:11.9
okay, like
197:13.9
what we were talking about earlier, di ba,
197:15.9
yung parang you think
197:17.9
a, um,
197:19.9
a good, isang
197:21.9
isang produkto
197:23.9
na nakikita mo sa store
197:25.9
just popped out, popped
197:27.9
in there, na parang
197:29.9
the process
197:31.9
and the knowledge and the
197:33.9
literally thousands of years
197:35.9
na collective knowledge involved
197:37.9
in perfecting, just mining
197:39.9
the cases of the
197:41.9
of that. Everything.
197:43.9
If you're gonna break it down
197:45.9
just mining the, let's say, kung
197:47.9
ano yan, kung cell phone. Huwag nang cell phone
197:49.9
kasi komplikado pa yan, paspasimple natin.
197:51.9
Yung bigas na lang,
197:53.9
bigas, so you, you're gonna buy
197:55.9
uh, let's say,
197:57.9
5 kilos of rice na nakabag
197:59.9
sa, sa, so. The technology that went
198:01.9
into making the bag? Oo. The technology
198:03.9
that went into processing the rice? Yes.
198:05.9
Delivering it, delivering it to the
198:07.9
store, diba? The machineries
198:09.9
needed, yung mga kotse, diba?
198:11.9
Alam mo magbuhatin nila yan, diba? Exactly, oo.
198:13.9
Diba? Not just
198:15.9
the rice, it's a, it's a
198:17.9
every, every good
198:19.9
commodity na, na
198:21.9
kinukuha natin, is
198:23.9
uh, hindi yung rice ang
198:25.9
ang uh,
198:27.9
pinakang ano mo, pinakang produkto.
198:29.9
Sama-samang effort yun.
198:31.9
It's connected, yes, with all the technologies
198:33.9
that surround it. Yes, and, and the
198:35.9
rice that, uh, you have
198:37.9
in your, uh, pantry,
198:39.9
kubaga, hindi, either
198:41.9
hindi yan makakarating or it will not
198:43.9
be formed, diba? Kasi,
198:45.9
diba, yung palang, uh,
198:47.9
pag-cultivate nung rice na malaki, diba?
198:49.9
Na matawi, diba? Sobrang
198:51.9
daming science. We're not even going into the
198:53.9
genetic, uh, technology
198:55.9
that goes into it. Oo, oo. It's
198:57.9
uh, so, now,
199:01.9
which is a little bit ironic, diba? Don't you think
199:03.9
na parang, uh,
199:05.9
the information,
199:07.9
uh, these are,
199:09.9
information age ang tawag ngayon, e, sa
199:11.9
panahon ngayon, na parang
199:13.9
readily available, pero
199:15.9
there's still,
199:17.9
pero yung disconnect is
199:19.9
widening, diba? Parang,
199:21.9
parang ano, e, contradiction
199:23.9
yung, ano. Uh, I don't necessarily
199:25.9
see it as a contradiction. Okay.
199:27.9
But I think it's an inevitable
199:29.9
consequence, e, of the
199:31.9
growth of human knowledge. Mm-hmm.
199:33.9
Kasi, um,
199:35.9
I mentioned this earlier, no, in, in
199:37.9
the podcast, no, na
199:39.9
the last time, you mentioned way
199:41.9
earlier, no, si, si
199:43.9
James Watt and his, ano, technology
199:45.9
and I was saying, na, people
199:47.9
from that time period, like, up
199:49.9
until the late 1800s,
199:51.9
no, it was possible
199:53.9
for you to be a brilliant scientist and work from
199:55.9
your garage. Mm-hmm. With, with
199:57.9
materials that you could find on hand. Mm-hmm.
199:59.9
Kasi, this was also the time when
200:01.9
the scope of human knowledge
200:03.9
is, was relatively small. Mm-hmm.
200:05.9
But it could fit in an encyclopedia
200:07.9
in, in, in its entirety
200:09.9
and you could, with enough patience,
200:11.9
learn it in general, diba? But,
200:13.9
the strength of
200:15.9
uh, scientific advancement
200:17.9
since then,
200:19.9
uh, but also a weakness in a certain way,
200:21.9
is that precisely because so much knowledge has been
200:23.9
uh, has been added
200:25.9
over the past century and a
200:27.9
half. Mm-hmm. In, not just in terms of,
200:29.9
ano, of new inventions and new technologies
200:31.9
but even in discoveries
200:33.9
uh, about the natural world, diba?
200:35.9
Physics also, diba? Mm-hmm.
200:37.9
So, sobrang dami nito,
200:39.9
it's all, it's already impossible
200:41.9
for a person to fully
200:43.9
understand it completely. Mm-hmm.
200:45.9
Without specializing.
200:47.9
So, anong nangyari ito, Lloyd? Oo nga.
200:49.9
People, people tend to become
200:51.9
islands of information. Ah.
200:53.9
Which in itself isn't a problem. Mm-hmm. But
200:55.9
the thing now is, precisely because
200:57.9
of this information on social media
200:59.9
and, and the negative effects
201:01.9
of, uh, postmodernism,
201:03.9
nagkakaroon tuloy ng duda, na
201:05.9
oh, ito, ano ito,
201:07.9
on the flip side, on the one hand, it's like
201:09.9
uh, you're a,
201:11.9
you have a PhD in physics, how do I
201:13.9
know that you're not, ano, that you're, that you're
201:15.9
not pulling my leg? Or, you're a doctor,
201:17.9
how do I know that you're not, you're not
201:19.9
working for big pharma? Oo.
201:21.9
How do I know that you're not, you're, you
201:23.9
guys, NASA guys aren't covering up
201:25.9
ano, the, the moon landing,
201:27.9
the flat earth, diba? How do I know that?
201:29.9
That's one side. But the flip side
201:31.9
also, it also gives, ano, uh,
201:33.9
people
201:35.9
who are peddling false
201:37.9
information a sense of legitimacy.
201:39.9
Diba? Na, oo. Oo nga.
201:41.9
Oo, ano, makinig kayo sa akin.
201:43.9
Kasi, uh, yan, itong
201:45.9
sinasabi ko, ano yan eh,
201:47.9
the, the, the,
201:49.9
uh, big pharma
201:51.9
or, or, or, ano,
201:53.9
or, or, the, the global governments
201:55.9
are trying to cover up this information.
201:57.9
Ganyan. Manipulators, madaming,
201:59.9
madaming manipulators. At it's worse.
202:01.9
Bad actors ng, ano eh, diba?
202:03.9
It's, it's, and it's
202:05.9
very hard to weed out
202:07.9
even to identify sometimes eh.
202:09.9
Right. And that also
202:11.9
dovetails to what, uh, we were talking about earlier
202:13.9
nga na, napakahirap nung, ano,
202:15.9
nung sitwasyon ng Gen Z.
202:17.9
And even Gen Y to a large extent,
202:19.9
I don't blame people for being confused.
202:21.9
Kasi when you're bombarded by
202:23.9
all of this information, ang hirap
202:25.9
nga naman to sit back and figure out,
202:27.9
okay, who do I trust? Which,
202:29.9
each information is correct or not, diba?
202:31.9
Yes, it's possible to,
202:33.9
to figure it out, pero it
202:35.9
takes a lot of effort, a lot of energy.
202:37.9
And, uh, especially,
202:39.9
kasi I've been hanging out in
202:41.9
Kumu, diba? Nagkukumo ako.
202:43.9
I've been hanging out in Kumu. Kumu, Kumu.
202:45.9
Uh, recently, and
202:47.9
dahil, kasi
202:49.9
dito sa podcast na to, I've been talking
202:51.9
about stressful stuff
202:53.9
like, ayan, COVID, yung mga
202:55.9
yung mga politics, diba?
202:57.9
So, I found
202:59.9
solace in Kumu na
203:01.9
parang, oh, it's so damn
203:03.9
wholesome, I wanna scream.
203:05.9
Gano'n. So, kasi meron ako mga
203:07.9
friends doon ng mga Gen Z,
203:09.9
diba? Tapos, minsan nga, nag-K-pop,
203:11.9
ano kami, nag-K-pop, uh, review.
203:13.9
Gano'n mga trip. Anyway,
203:15.9
sounds nice. Uh, so,
203:17.9
what I found out
203:19.9
interacting with these, uh,
203:21.9
kids is, uh,
203:23.9
hindi na nila alam yung mga
203:25.9
the people
203:27.9
that we think
203:29.9
na hindi pa naman gano'n katanda
203:31.9
for us, hindi na nila kilala.
203:33.9
Hindi nila kilala si Paul
203:35.9
Medina, tol. Oh.
203:37.9
Hindi nila kilala si Paul Medina.
203:41.9
Diba? Hindi nila kilala
203:43.9
si Paul Medina, which is for
203:45.9
kahit hindi comics. Kasi, sa
203:47.9
dami ng content creators,
203:49.9
mahirap talaga, and
203:51.9
again, that's also partly
203:53.9
because of the echo chambers that we set up.
203:55.9
On the one hand, people who do know him
203:57.9
will stay within that echo chamber,
203:59.9
but the thing is, people outside of it
204:01.9
will not have heard of him. Oo, diba?
204:03.9
Pero, for
204:05.9
for us,
204:07.9
kahit nga hindi comics fan,
204:09.9
at least narinig na nila ako si Paul Medina,
204:11.9
diba? Parang medyo
204:13.9
may pagka-weird ka
204:15.9
pag di mo siya kilala, diba?
204:17.9
Eh, sa kanila, as in
204:19.9
wala, as in hindi nila kilala.
204:21.9
Tinanong ko nga yung iba eh, kasi
204:23.9
ang alam nila is mga
204:25.9
Wattpad at saka yung mga
204:27.9
what's that, yung comics?
204:29.9
Webtoons, yun ang alam
204:31.9
nila, diba?
204:33.9
And, wow, sabi ko, this is
204:35.9
a new world, diba? So,
204:37.9
it would be very
204:39.9
it would take much more
204:41.9
effort for them to
204:43.9
to look up
204:45.9
information
204:47.9
na
204:49.9
I don't know, that can balance
204:51.9
things out, diba?
204:53.9
Parang you would need to
204:55.9
deliberately
204:57.9
isipin,
204:59.9
gumawa ka ng effort,
205:01.9
which I suppose, it, ganoon din
205:03.9
naman sa atin siguro, diba? Kasi you would need
205:05.9
to deliberately
205:07.9
put an effort to find out
205:09.9
about the Beatles, diba? Or unless yung
205:11.9
parents mo, Beatles
205:13.9
fan, or
205:15.9
I don't know, it's just so
205:17.9
ang problema lang siguro nga yun is
205:19.9
the
205:21.9
deluge nung
205:23.9
information na nakukuha nila is
205:25.9
way, parang, more
205:27.9
overwhelming than what we had.
205:29.9
True, true. Yes, yes, I agree.
205:31.9
Whoo!
205:33.9
I'm not sure, I'm really
205:35.9
not sure how we'll move forward from that.
205:37.9
Oo nga eh, no?
205:39.9
The simulation has ended.
205:41.9
Ang ako lang, and I don't know
205:43.9
maybe I'm naively optimistic
205:45.9
pero we've survived
205:47.9
world wars, we've survived
205:49.9
to a certain extent, we've survived
205:51.9
disinformation, I think we'll survive
205:53.9
this, I'm just not sure how.
205:55.9
And, yun,
205:57.9
maybe we might not even like how we
205:59.9
survive it, but I think we will.
206:01.9
Sabi nga ni George
206:03.9
Carlin, at least
206:05.9
the planet will be fine
206:07.9
without us.
206:09.9
Which is totoo naman talaga, pero
206:11.9
let's
206:13.9
see. Pero it will be
206:15.9
so sad if
206:17.9
humanity will
206:19.9
fail, na parang
206:21.9
we won't
206:23.9
go out, we won't be able to
206:25.9
go out in the
206:27.9
space and beyond,
206:29.9
diba?
206:31.9
Pero, at the
206:33.9
end of the day, it's finite eh, talaga eh.
206:35.9
If we don't do that, talagang
206:37.9
as long
206:39.9
as
206:41.9
the billions of years that
206:43.9
Earth will see exist
206:45.9
as a celestial rock
206:47.9
over here, then
206:49.9
siguro pwede dating gawa ng paraan, diba?
206:51.9
Kahit nakailang ice age na ulit,
206:53.9
diba? Pero
206:55.9
even then,
206:57.9
parang katulad din sa story ko, diba?
206:59.9
Makakawala rin yan eh.
207:01.9
The solar system will die. Even the
207:03.9
universe, they said, will
207:05.9
eventually die.
207:07.9
Ako, I think, I take solace in the
207:09.9
knowledge
207:11.9
or in the thought that
207:13.9
we tried, you know?
207:15.9
Even if, I hope we don't
207:17.9
fail, but even if we do,
207:19.9
we tried our best, and I think
207:21.9
there's a nobility in that eh. Regardless
207:23.9
of the outcome,
207:25.9
there's something to be said
207:27.9
about, you know,
207:29.9
when all is said and done,
207:31.9
even if
207:33.9
all things go to heck,
207:35.9
you know, there were people who
207:37.9
looked to the stars and
207:39.9
tried to reach them.
207:41.9
That's beautiful.
207:43.9
Alright, pag
207:47.9
I suppose it's a little
207:49.9
bit comforting, diba? Kasi
207:53.9
parang yung
207:55.9
infiniteness ng universes.
207:57.9
We now know na
207:59.9
di pala ito, diba?
208:01.9
Slowly but surely nakikita
208:03.9
natin, diba? Now we're looking
208:05.9
at the edge of the universe
208:07.9
and
208:09.9
basta. Still, we might be
208:11.9
just one in many parallel
208:13.9
universes. I'd like to think
208:15.9
that. We also
208:17.9
don't know if
208:19.9
at the end of this one, it will give birth to a new one.
208:21.9
You don't know.
208:23.9
My story has explanation
208:25.9
of all of that
208:27.9
which is
208:29.9
di pa ako makapagbigay
208:31.9
ng, until
208:33.9
I've finished writing the
208:35.9
story.
208:37.9
Let's talk about
208:39.9
stories naman. Are you writing anything
208:41.9
now, a fiction? Not at the
208:43.9
moment. I have some ideas
208:45.9
but they're on the backburner
208:47.9
for now.
208:49.9
Actually, as far as
208:51.9
I'm concerned,
208:53.9
one way that I can talk about
208:55.9
is broad strokes.
208:57.9
First of all, I am very interested in
208:59.9
the practical aspect
209:01.9
of science fiction. I mentioned this
209:03.9
earlier how science fiction
209:05.9
could be a tool to encourage
209:07.9
kids to get into STEM but also
209:09.9
to help us envision
209:11.9
specifically, very
209:13.9
specifically, how Filipinos
209:15.9
can move forward into the future.
209:17.9
That's something that
209:19.9
I'd like to see. I'd like to see
209:21.9
more, say, writing
209:23.9
contests or more
209:25.9
anthologies maybe
209:27.9
that focus on future
209:29.9
fiction specific to the Philippines.
209:31.9
This is something that we do,
209:33.9
that other countries are doing too.
209:35.9
Segway Lang, MIT
209:37.9
specifically, and
209:39.9
Singapore also. I've seen anthologies
209:41.9
like this where they ask
209:43.9
where either they
209:45.9
in Singapore's case, they had an
209:47.9
I forgot the title, they had an anthology
209:49.9
where they asked kids
209:51.9
to write stories
209:53.9
about what they see as the future of Singapore
209:55.9
and then they chose the best ones.
209:57.9
In the States, specifically at MIT,
209:59.9
I forgot the name of the anthology but
210:01.9
they solicited
210:03.9
stories from well-known
210:05.9
science fiction authors
210:07.9
and then
210:09.9
there was a prompt,
210:11.9
given this particular technology,
210:13.9
artificial intelligence,
210:15.9
how do you see
210:17.9
what kind of story can you make
210:19.9
how do you see society in the future
210:21.9
using this.
210:23.9
There's a practical purpose.
210:25.9
Of course, it's entertaining but the practical
210:27.9
purpose of this is it encourages
210:29.9
people to dream beyond
210:31.9
the present. So that's one.
210:33.9
As for myself, my personal
210:35.9
projects,
210:37.9
wala pa naman,
210:41.9
I would like to
210:43.9
go back to future fiction.
210:47.9
Sky Gypsies that I did
210:49.9
10 years ago na pala, as it turns out,
210:51.9
10 years old,
210:53.9
was a story of
210:55.9
a budge house in
210:57.9
the asteroid belt. I'd like to
210:59.9
pursue something like that as well.
211:01.9
Which is available online, di ba?
211:03.9
You can download here.
211:05.9
So just
211:07.9
search Sky Gypsies
211:09.9
download natin
211:11.9
para makita nila.
211:17.9
I'm also looking at
211:19.9
sci-fi
211:21.9
fantastic fiction
211:23.9
that's
211:25.9
based on alternate history
211:27.9
Philippines.
211:29.9
That's something worth pursuing.
211:31.9
Long story short,
211:33.9
nakakalula siya kasi
211:35.9
I don't think I'm quite ready yet to
211:37.9
delve
211:39.9
into an alternate reality
211:41.9
because
211:43.9
the
211:45.9
stories that I'd like to pursue
211:47.9
precisely because it's
211:49.9
alternate reality or alternate
211:51.9
history.
211:55.9
If certain scientific
211:57.9
events happen or if certain events
211:59.9
happened in history that changed the course
212:01.9
of things, syempre magbabago
212:03.9
yung present.
212:05.9
For me, maybe I'm overthinking it
212:07.9
pero nalulula din ako.
212:09.9
Shocks! Ang daming pwede magbago.
212:11.9
Napaparalyze ako. I'm not sure how to go
212:13.9
about this.
212:15.9
One tricky thing
212:17.9
about writing
212:19.9
science fiction is
212:21.9
if you write a little bit more
212:23.9
recent,
212:25.9
sometimes technology
212:27.9
can catch up.
212:29.9
At worst, it could become stale.
212:31.9
It also
212:33.9
maybe what you think is
212:35.9
amazing, the new
212:37.9
technology is better
212:39.9
than the old.
212:43.9
It diminishes the impressiveness
212:45.9
of your idea.
212:47.9
Especially now,
212:49.9
let's say,
212:53.9
mga science fiction dati,
212:55.9
yung mind control.
212:57.9
Ngayon, yung neural link ni Elon Musk
212:59.9
sabi, pwede ka
213:01.9
mabasa yung
213:05.9
download yung utak mo.
213:07.9
May isang report,
213:09.9
ginawa niya na raw,
213:11.9
in-upload niya na raw yung utak niya sa neural link.
213:13.9
I don't know kung totoo yun
213:15.9
pero, diba,
213:17.9
or in my case, dun sa
213:19.9
Neil Gaiman entry ko dati,
213:23.9
or New Discoveries,
213:25.9
apparently I was looking at
213:27.9
an outdated
213:29.9
research,
213:31.9
yung reference ko.
213:33.9
Tapos nalaman ko na
213:35.9
mas mahaba pa pala yung
213:37.9
buhay ng sun.
213:39.9
So, parang mali pala.
213:43.9
Well, it happens.
213:47.9
Ako, like, when you look at
213:49.9
old stories from the golden age of
213:51.9
sci-fi and from Asimov,
213:53.9
some of them appear quaint.
213:55.9
Pero, for me, that's the charm
213:57.9
of them. Kahit na
213:59.9
quaint sila. At saka,
214:01.9
yun yung maganda yung suspension of disbelief.
214:03.9
If it works
214:05.9
as a story, cute siya.
214:07.9
Wow. These images are
214:09.9
pretty, man. Galing.
214:11.9
I have to
214:13.9
give mad props to John Ray Bumanglag
214:15.9
for all of this.
214:17.9
His art style, as you can see, is very
214:19.9
gorgeous.
214:21.9
He's obviously very
214:23.9
influenced by Pinoy comics.
214:25.9
That's his style.
214:27.9
That's his charm. Very, very detailed.
214:29.9
There's a classical
214:31.9
feel sa style niya.
214:33.9
Sa hatching.
214:35.9
Natuwa ko kasi, of course,
214:37.9
when you write a story,
214:39.9
a prose story,
214:41.9
you tend to have certain
214:43.9
images in your mind.
214:45.9
Pero, hindi man ako
214:47.9
anal-retentive na kung ano yung nasa isip ko,
214:49.9
gusto ko yung artist,
214:51.9
yung din yung nasa isip niya.
214:53.9
In this particular case, I remember
214:55.9
when he got in touch with me.
214:57.9
This started as a thesis.
214:59.9
His thesis for college.
215:01.9
He messaged
215:03.9
me out of the blue. I didn't know him. Sabi niya,
215:05.9
he saw my short story.
215:07.9
He loved it and used it as the
215:09.9
jumping-off point for this comic,
215:11.9
which was his thesis.
215:13.9
When I saw it, I was blown away kasi
215:15.9
a lot of the images
215:17.9
were not things that I didn't think of
215:19.9
but they just made sense.
215:21.9
You're looking through right now
215:23.9
his images of the asteroid field
215:25.9
and what not. So very beautifully
215:27.9
gorgeous. This raises
215:29.9
a very interesting point, of course, about
215:31.9
science fiction. The fictional
215:33.9
part of sci-fi.
215:35.9
There's a lot of fantastic
215:37.9
elements here in the sense na
215:39.9
number one is I only
215:41.9
found out later na hindi
215:43.9
ganyan na magiging itsura ng asteroid belt.
215:45.9
The asteroids are much
215:47.9
farther away than that.
215:49.9
If you were there, as in,
215:51.9
gatuldok lang sila sa malayo.
215:53.9
But when I wrote this...
215:55.9
Millions of miles away from each other.
215:57.9
Hindi ko alam yun eh.
215:59.9
Kasi star wars yun eh.
216:01.9
Of course,
216:03.9
things like even the
216:05.9
technology that I
216:07.9
invented that keeps them breathing
216:09.9
in outer space.
216:11.9
The design of the ship, for instance, which is
216:13.9
very sailboat-like.
216:15.9
These are
216:17.9
probably
216:19.9
difficult if not impossible
216:21.9
to make in real life.
216:23.9
So they are fantastical in that
216:25.9
sense. But I would like to think
216:27.9
that the main motifs,
216:29.9
the main arguments that the
216:31.9
story brings forward, namely
216:33.9
how
216:35.9
Filipinos culturally
216:37.9
will have to deal with
216:39.9
space faring
216:41.9
or vice versa, how space
216:43.9
faring will influence our
216:45.9
cultures moving forward.
216:47.9
This is something that is worth
216:49.9
engaging
216:51.9
and looking at.
216:53.9
Even if this is largely
216:55.9
a fantastic thing,
216:57.9
the motifs that it raises, the questions that it
216:59.9
raises, I think are still valid to this day.
217:05.9
This guy is a real
217:07.9
visual storyteller.
217:09.9
Sa dulo yung sinama dyan,
217:11.9
at least in the downloadable
217:13.9
version is the short story
217:15.9
that it's based on.
217:17.9
Was this published in a book?
217:19.9
Yes, it was published in the
217:21.9
Philippine Speculative Fiction
217:23.9
Anthology.
217:25.9
Volume 3 to be precise.
217:27.9
I've heard about that
217:29.9
book.
217:31.9
Dapat sumali ako dun eh.
217:33.9
Pero invitation
217:35.9
na tayo.
217:37.9
You can just
217:39.9
write.
217:41.9
Anyway,
217:43.9
yun.
217:45.9
I suppose
217:47.9
we can
217:49.9
end on that note.
217:51.9
So, yun.
217:53.9
Thank you again.
217:55.9
Thank you very much.
217:57.9
Thank you again, TJ.
217:59.9
We'll be
218:01.9
looking forward to more of your projects
218:03.9
and kung saan
218:05.9
ka mapadpad.
218:07.9
Yes, maraming salamat.
218:09.9
I hope we can do this
218:11.9
again. Oh, we'd love to.
218:13.9
Yes, please do.
218:15.9
Pag wala kang ginagawa, we feel like
218:17.9
talking, having these
218:19.9
conversations. Actually, these
218:21.9
are the kinds of conversations that I really
218:23.9
like.
218:29.9
Uncertain things
218:31.9
that we don't really know about. We speculate
218:33.9
but we speculate
218:35.9
carefully and
218:37.9
thoughtfully and
218:39.9
yun. Yun ang gusto
218:41.9
kong...
218:43.9
To me, if
218:45.9
somebody watches this,
218:47.9
I learned how to think
218:49.9
by watching thinkers.
218:51.9
Pwede mo palang
218:53.9
tingnan ng isang bagay this way
218:55.9
and that way.
218:57.9
Sometimes,
218:59.9
especially in a conversation,
219:01.9
that's why podcasts
219:03.9
are really attractive to me.
219:05.9
Parang nung nakita ko, wow, I saw
219:07.9
the possibilities from
219:09.9
yung mga conversations.
219:11.9
Siyempre, yung inspiration ko was
219:13.9
the Joe Rogan experience.
219:15.9
Yun yung... Kasi
219:17.9
interview rin yun eh, di ba? It's not just
219:19.9
one guy talking to a camera or
219:21.9
a microphone.
219:23.9
I saw the value.
219:25.9
Kasi if I can...
219:27.9
I'm not really
219:29.9
a smart guy. I'm not the smartest guy
219:31.9
you'll ever meet.
219:33.9
I've just trained myself
219:35.9
to be more articulate.
219:37.9
When I started
219:39.9
podcasting, I don't even consider
219:41.9
myself to be the most articulate
219:43.9
person. I understand where you're coming from. Kasi ako
219:45.9
din naman and that's why I do
219:47.9
what I do. Kasi parang
219:49.9
gusto ko rin ipakita na
219:51.9
guys, you know, hindi rin ako
219:53.9
Einstein, hindi rin ako genius eh.
219:55.9
But I've
219:57.9
worn my heart on my sleeve.
219:59.9
The paths that I took
220:01.9
are paths that other
220:03.9
people can do. And as I keep
220:05.9
saying, people out there
220:07.9
who are listening to this podcast, you might
220:09.9
not think... You're definitely
220:11.9
more capable
220:13.9
than you think or feel you are.
220:15.9
You just need to take the chance.
220:17.9
Okay, so and
220:19.9
with that, let's end
220:21.9
this podcast.
220:23.9
I'm looking forward
220:25.9
to having you again here
220:27.9
in DPKP.
220:29.9
Thank you.
220:31.9
Powerful Comics Man Podcast.
220:33.9
Pagka...
221:03.9
Outro Music
221:32.9
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