Numbers, numbers everywhere

A lot of people complain on how unimportant numbers, and algebra and calculus are, and that they won't need them when they land a job that doesn't deal with numbers (unless of course if you're a rocket scientist, but that's a different story). What they don't realize is that this method of discipline specifically sharpens a person's critical thinking process.

When you were asked about the sum, difference, product or quotient of an equation, what it was trying to do is to have you find out the results of a process. If you have resource A on one hand and resource B on the other, what can you accomplish? Will you add, subtract, multiply or divide your manpower and resources to get better results? These are but simple thinking processes that we tactfully  do everyday. And we couldn't have done them better without learning the basics of math.

When you were asked to find "x," were you really trying to find x or were you looking for the missing piece of the puzzle? What are needed in order to accomplish your goal? How could you accomplish it, and what are the steps needed to solve that problem?

Then there's the dreaded integral and differential calculus. Let's step back a little bit and take a look at the big picture. We have are countless formulas, theorems and principles. In short, these are your guides. But do we necessarily need to memorize them throughout the day? No. We just need to familiarize them, by heart. These guides point to the same direction, the tried and tested pathway made by men and women who had walked ahead of you and shared their ideas for the next generation. 

Lastly you will be asked to check your equation and proofread your work. It doesn't really matter if you made mistakes along the way because at the end of the day what's important is how you've sharpened your thinking process.

The class is the testing ground, and there's no better way "to sweat more in training than to bleed in battle" than pouring in out on test papers, quizzes and exams. So what was the most difficult equation you've encountered so far? Mine was dy/dx.

Father and Son

My father woke me up one time in the wee hours of the night. It was still dark outside, yet grey lights peeked into our home. I didn't know what was going on until he told me that I'm going with him. Going where? He want me to come with him and travel to Toledo and Balamban. I didn't know how far those places were. I've heard of them before but I didn't know if my body wanted to ride a bus, let alone stand up. I didn't even know why he had to do this when he had a job. Did he resigned or was he kicked out of the company. I was too young to understand. All I want was a good night sleep.

And here I was at this bus, the smell of the diesel and smoke at 4 o'clock in the morning was excruciating. Couldn't he just do this on his own? Why does he have to wake me up? Can't he just do it by himself? Besides, he's supposed the breadwinner of the family. Questions raced through my mind as I fought to go back to sleep while sitting at my seat.

Mind you, it was a 3-hour long trip. My butt sored from the bumps and turns of the bus. It was a Sunday morning, and I should be asleep by now and should be playing with the kids in my neighborhood. And now, all that is gone because my father thought it was a good idea to bring his eldest son to a trip.

He doesn't smile a lot. And when he does, it was with his friends. But not to us. He was always grudging and angry, ready to throw us out of the window if we did something wrong. One time he threw at the corner home because I punched him in the face after he tickled me so hard. Did I really punch him? I couldn't remember. But then again, I was too young.

After twenty years I realized what he was trying to do. I am the eldest of eight siblings and he wanted me to take charge of the things he couldn't do alone. At first I thought, "It sucks to be the eldest." But I have a responsibility to do. A responsibility, a crown I must take head on, no matter how difficult it is.

He was trying to show me how hard life is, the reality of being a father. I didn't realize it then because we were well-off. Everything were provided to us - clothing, education, food; all the basic necessities a child could have. But not the love. He couldn't show it to us because he himself had some battles to fight.

I couldn't forget what he told me that day, "One day you'll travel on your own and have your own family. But remember this, your destiny is yours and yours alone. Never let anyone take it from you."

The day a mudskipper taught me a lesson

Are you familiar with the mudskippers? They are the amphibious fishes that leave water for extended periods of time. (Please go visit wikipedia to know more about Mudskippers).


While I watching this show on the television, I discovered something about them. Using their fins and tail, they scamper for food in the mud and along shoreline just to survive. But what struck me most is how they build their “nest.” Every now and then they emerge from their hole/home spitting pebbles the size of its head.


And I thought that was all of it until I learned what’s inside their nest. It’s a U-shaped tunnel where it keeps its eggs at the other end. And for the eggs to survive, they need a constant supply of oxygen. So every now and then, the mudskipper emerges, gulps a mouthful of air, goes into the other end and breathes the oxygen to the eggs that lined up the walls of the tunnel. The mudskipper does this process until the eggs are hatched (read: for almost a week).

And then I was startled. If these little creatures, which are smaller than your thumb, can take up the challenges of life, then there’s no reason that you, as a person capable of critical thinking, should give up to the challenges of everyday life. Without these difficulties and challenges, you won’t evolve into a better person.