In Search of Symmetry - I found this instead

I was looking for pictures that exhibit symmetry when I chanced upon this site http://lookmind.com/. Okay, I am not into IQ games and whatever but I looked around just the same. The site has a large collection of interesting pictures, some of which you might recognize as works of Escher.

I am not a mathematician and I enjoy Escher’s work only when I want to have a nausea attack. Yet, the artist is famous for his drawings of ‘impossible’ structures like Ascending and Descending, Relativity, his Transformation Prints, such as Metamorphosis I, Metamorphosis II and Metamorphosis III, Sky & Water I or Reptiles. Because Escher’s works have included considerable mathematical content, many of the artist’s avid fans were mathematicians.

I was introduced to Escher in high school when we were asked to make simple tessellations. That’s the only part of geometry that I appreciated – drawing pictures and symmetry, and now I am using it in chemistry (I want to clear things up: I am not an expert in symmetry, and I do not claim to be one) in studying molecules. You will not believe that chemistry requires a little math too. But some philosophers might disagree. Immanuel Kant gave chemistry a very low mathematical rating. Another one even described the relationship between math and chemistry as “…two separate things, like wind and water; they move with each other, but they don’t mix.”

But back to the original topic. I am not writing this entry to talk about chemistry, but to share the interesting figures I found on that site. The first and the second pictures are just modified versions of the Penrose triangle and Penrose square, respectively. Wheewwww. The third picture, well – you don’t know if it is viewed from the top or from the bottom. I do not want to think about the philosophy, the meaning, the logic, etc., etc. behind these pictures because I am not in the position to discuss it. Let's leave it to the mathematicians. So I just enjoyed the pictures and I hope you do too!






Now, how impossible are they? Just wait when you visit another cool site http://www.coolopticalillusions.com/, which describes how to make a Penrose triangle.

I'll post the pictures of my own Penrose triangle in my blog after I have constructed it.

Next stop is the Moebius strip. This one is my personal favorite for the simple reason that it is easy to make. All you need is a piece of paper, a pair of scissors, tape and a little half-twisting.

This one was made by Escher and you can see it at http://lookmind.com/. The Moebius strip was part of a movie plot where a spaceship got caught in a space warp and they could not escape until somebody found a way out of the Moebius strip. Guess who they saw afterwards, flying in outer space... yeah, the Science Patrol guy.

Source: http://futakin.txt-nifty.com/blog/files/ULTRAMAN.jpg

early days rewind

Si Mama ang pinakamalaking impluwensiya sa buhay ko nung bata-bata pa ako. Nag-aaral pa lang siya ng MS noon, nung pinanganak ako kaya nakikita ko lang siya kapag umuuwi ng bahay mula sa trabaho at pag-aaral. Si Lola nag-aalaga sa amin kapag wala si Mama sa bahay. Pero ang gustung-gusto kong araw ay Linggo kasi magkasama kami ni Mama na nagsisimba. Karga-karga ako lagi ni Mama. Pinapakyaw namin ‘yung balloons dun sa may simbahan. Wala si Tatay dun sa picture kasi nagtatrabaho nga sa ibang bansa. Noong bata pa lang ako, ang pumasok na sa isip ko ay simbahan = balloons. Kaya gusto ko laging nagsisimba.

Nakakatakot si Mama kapag namalo. Oo, nagiging halimaw siya. Sobra. Tanda ko noon nanuod lang ako ng basketball sa may amin, kinakutsaba ko katulong namin. Pinagplanuhan ‘yun nang mabuti dahil nagdala pa ako ng sariling upuan. E hindi naman ako nagpaalam. Inabot kami ng alas-diyes ng gabi sa pag-uwi. Tantananan! Ayun si Mama sa may pinto, nakahanda ang hanger na pamalo (kulay pula pa kamo).

AAAAAAAAAAAA!!! MAMAAAA!!! TAMA NA POOOOO!!!! HUHUHUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAGPAPAALAM NA POOOOOOO!!!!!! HINDI NA PO MAUULEEEEET!!!!! MAMAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! HUHUHUHUUUUUUU!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Kaawaan ang anghel na pinapalo. Abot hanggang tulay ngawa ko. Kawawa din ‘yung katulong namin, napagalitan dahil sa akin.

Hindi nagtagal umalis si Mama para mag-aral. Mag-6 years old na siguro ako nun. Kaya si Lola ang nag-alaga sa amin.

Si Mama ‘yung disciplinarian noong bata ako. Nung wala siya, pumalit si Lola. Nung wala na si Lola, pumalit si Tatay. Nung bumalik na si Mama mula pag-aaral, umalis naman ako ng bahay para mag-aral.

Magka-complement sina Tatay at Mama. Kapag hihingi ka ng advice tungkol sa pasikot-sikot (paperwork) sa University, acads, correspondence with the authorities, tanungin mo si Mama. Kasi cool siya at hindi ipapakitang naiinis kahit naiinis na siya sa kausap niya. Si Tatay parang maninigaw lagi ng tao e. Pero kapag hihingi ka naman ng advice tungkol sa pasikot-sikot sa utak ng mga lalake at ng ibang tao, tanungin mo si Tatay. Hehe. Sapul ‘yan.

early days

Natuto lang akong magsulat noong 4 years old ako. At ang letter ‘E’ ko pa ay parang suklay na maraming ngipin. Kung hindi pa pupunahin nung pinsan ko, hindi ko malalamang tatlo lang pala dapat ngipin ng letter ‘E’ as in ‘E’.

Hindi man magaling sa pag-aaral, tanungin niyo ako ng pasikot-sikot sa baranggay namin, hanggang ang daan papuntang Laguna Lake, masasagot kita. Expert ako diyan. Ipa-recite mo din sa akin lahat ng mura sa kalye, alam ko din ‘yan. Mas nauna ko pang nasaulo ang mga murang ‘yun kaysa ma-spell ko ang salitang ‘FISH.’ Apat na taon din ako nun, malutong na ang aking dila.

Kinder ako (pangalawang kinder, kasi may kinder 1 at kinder 2) nung malaman ko na ang ‘FISH’ pala ay ‘F’, ‘I’, ‘S’, ‘H’. Nainggit lang ako sa mga kaklase ko noon na nagpayabangan sa splengin kaya lang ako nagtanong kung paano mag-spell. At apat na letrang salita pa kamo. Okay sana kung ‘FLOWER’ ‘yun, mahaba-haba pa. Ano namang maipagmamalaki ko sa ‘FISH’?

Tanda ko noon, mag-Grade 1 na ako, hindi ko pa rin alam ang pinagkaiba ng vowels sa consonants. Nagbayad sina Mama at Tatay ng tutor noon kasi pareho silang wala sa bansa at lola ko lang ang nag-aalaga sa aming magpipinsan. ‘Yung tutor ko ay isang elementary teacher sa public school. Pumunta ako isang araw sa bahay niya (malapit lang ‘yun sa amin. Maghahagis ka nga lang ng bato, andun ka na) at pinasagutan niya ako ng exercise sa vowel at consonant. Tandang-tanda ko pa mga pangyayari:

May dumating siyang kapitbahay. Siyempre, nagchismisan muna sila habang ako ay nagsasagot. Narinig ko na lang na sinabi ng teacher ko sa ka-chismisan niya:

“Alam mo matalino ang batang ‘to.”

(Heto talaga tumakbo sa isip ko): “Ha? Anong sinasabi nitong matalino? Hindi ko nga masagutan ‘tong pinapasagot nito sa akin e. Basta bilog lang ako ng bilog. Hindi ko naman alam ‘yung vowel.”

At pinasa ko na kay teacher ang aking papel. Siyempre, proud na proud si teacher sa pag-check nun, kasi nga akala niya ay may utak talaga ako. Oo, bata pa lang ako, marami na akong naloloko.

Hehe. At ang score ko noon? 6 out of 20. Nakita kong napahiya teacher ko dun sa kapitbahay niya. Tumahimik na lang ‘yung kapitbahay.

Hindi ko pa rin makalimutan ‘yung reaksiyon ng teacher ko. Hehe. Masaya naman ako kasi pagkatapos noon, balik kalsada na uli ako at naglaro ng tumbang preso.

Makalipas ang isang buwan, namatay ang lola ko. Bumalik sa Pilipinas si Tatay kasi walang mag-aalaga sa amin.

Ayun. Tapos na din maliligayang araw ko sa kalsada.

Up next… Impluwensiya ni Mama sa buhay ko.

psyche unloved

In each and every one of us lies a seed of insecurity, and the more we hide it, the more it grows. The problem stems not from our lack of anything, but from our desire to prove something to everybody. So we devise ways to hide our insecurities, and sometimes we do it by feigning self-confidence.

***

There’s a person who becomes comfortable with himself because he projects an aura of confidence.

***

False self-confidence feeds on our own insecurities. It is a kind of self-defense. If affected, it is not confidence in ourselves at all, but an act to cover up the fact that we lack confidence. It is like an illusion, a mirage in the desert that gives momentary solace to a lonely wanderer.

Our insecurities lie in the most secret crevice of the heart. Once it becomes exposed to emotions we cannot fathom, we defend ourselves from this onslaught. It is the fear of rejection which therefore prevents us to show our weaknesses, and we allow only a chosen few to see that part us.

Untitled

Song of the Soul XXII

In the depth of my soul there is

A wordless song - a song that lives

In the seed of my heart.

It refuses to melt with ink on

Parchment; it engulfs my affection

In a transparent cloak and flows,

But not upon my lips.

How can I sigh it? I fear it may

Mingle with earthly ether;

To whom shall I sing it? It dwells

In the house of my soul, in fear of

Harsh ears.

When I look into my inner eyes

I see the shadow of its shadow;

When I touch my fingertips

I feel its vibrations.

The deeds of my hands heed its

Presence as a lake must reflect

The glittering stars; my tears

Reveal it, as bright drops of dew

Reveal the secret of a withering rose.

It is a song composed by contemplation,

And published by silence,

And shunned by clamor,

And folded by truth,

And repeated by dreams,

And understood by love,

And hidden by awakening,

And sung by the soul.

It is the song of love;

What Cain or Esau could sing it?

It is more fragrant than jasmine;

What voice could enslave it?

It is heartbound, as a virgin's secret;

What string could quiver it?

Who dares unite the roar of the sea

And the singing of the nightingale?

Who dares compare the shrieking tempest

To the sigh of an infant?

Who dares speak aloud the words

Intended for the heart to speak?

What human dares sing in voice

The song of God?

Khalil Gibran

Adventure in Paradise: BORACAY I

When they say that Boracay is a paradise, they are right. The only thing that ruins the aura of isolation is the multitude of people that gather on that tiny island. It was my first time to go there, and the second for my office mates. They said that Boracay changed a lot. The talipapa, the famous market place were you can buy cheap souvenir items was relocated. The original place was ravaged by fire years ago. And the other side of the island is now being developed.

The sand of Boracay is really white – not yellowish white, not brown, not ochre, but white - and very fine. They say it is the ancient coral formation that lends the island its white sandy beaches. And the water – well, the water at the West Beach is already teeming with floating seaweeds – but the water at Puka Beach – it is clear, so clear that you can see your feet under water. Farther from the beach, the water turns aquamarine, not dark blue or black. Had Magellan and his crew landed on this island centuries ago, the Philippines would not have been a colony of Spain. For they would never think of coming back to Spain again. Hehe. It is just an exaggeration, really.





D’ Talipapa

D’ Talipapa is just like any talipapa in the mainland. There are stalls selling different kinds of merchandise – souvenir t-shirts for 75 pesos, key chains (7 for 100 pesos), refrigerator magnets, Hawaiian shorts, batik, lanterns, and many more. You develop your haggling skills here because prices can really drop to as low as you want if you know how to charm your way with the vendors.

One particular stall that I liked is the one selling sarong. They offer so many unique designs (leaves, fish, batik, lizards, etc.) for the sarong that it is difficult to choose one. I settled myself for a sarong with a lizard design. You can use it as a wall decoration for your house. Prices start at 200 pesos. The really beautiful pieces are much expensive. The price depends on the textile, the ink used for the design, and the design itself.

Another stall that stood out is the one selling good copies of expensive CDs. The owner has a large collection of Bob Marley, Putumayo, the Gypsies, and other giants of world music and bossa nova. An original CD of Putumayo is worth 4000 pesos, but a nice copy can be bought from this shop for 100 pesos. He related to us how half of his original collection was destroyed by the fire two years ago. He is just starting again his business and his CD collection. My officemate happily bought 2 CDs, one is a copy of Putumayo. But since I am just a novice when it comes to bossa nova and world music, I just bought shells from a little girl in the shop.

One particular item in the shop that I could not forget is the wooden snake that they were selling for 100 pesos. I saw exactly the same toy snake in Tagaytay just a day before, and it was worth 50 pesos. The snake smelled good business here and having really sharp business acumen, swam across the ocean to Boracay and demanded an additional 50 pesos for all his efforts.

They also sell LANTERNS, LANTERNS, LANTERNS, LANTERNS, LANTERNS (if you find the place, you know what I mean), and other furniture and home decors made from shells.


To be continued...

Text twist to boredom

panget - Tagalog word for 'ugly'

How many English words can you find in 'panget'? (excluding 1-or-2-letter words)

pan
nap
tag
pat
pang
tang
neat
peat
tape
tap
gap
gape
gate
tan
net
pet
eat
ant
ate
tea
pant
ape
pea
get
ten
page
peg

Can you find some more?