In My Humble Opinion

On legal Internship and threats inside the courtroom

2011-08-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

I was given the opportunity to share an experience inside the courtroom. To read my story please go to Themis.ph or click this link.

To the Universe, please make me a lawyer. Help me become a good one. :)

Hackers and IT Law Enforcement

2011-06-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

When I watched the confessions of a Pinoy hacker, I can't help but be super paranoid.

How can we deal with the gaps?

Confessions of a Hacker

On IT Law Enforcement

Courses on IT and Law ICANN

How one’s IQ may contribute to one's wellness

2011-04-02T09:35:00.000-07:00

Our present culture gives premium to what we produce or achieve than what we are. The standards of success revolve around bank accounts, number of properties, and the amalgamation of power and fame in a person. Our sense of security depends not so much on how we take care of ourselves in terms of body, mind and spirit but how well we manage our finances. It is not to say that they are mutually exclusive—that to take care of one necessarily involves neglecting the other—but that in fact, they are equally important to living life successfully.

When we say body wellness, we refer to not just some parts of our physiology but to our whole state of being—body, mind, and spirit. It is only proper that we similarly give them importance because the standards of the world for success are not departed from the standard of success of our own well-being. Is there a correlation between a healthy body and success? Are the rich people rich because they are healthy or are they healthy because they are rich?

It is argued in this entry that although body, mind and spirit should be given equal treatment in terms of health, it is important that we first take care of our mind’s intelligence quotient (IQ) before we can take care of the other aspects of our health as we pursue the formula health=wealth.

In a study by Linda Gottfredson, a sociologist based at the University of Delaware, and psychologist Ian Deary of the University of Edinburgh, she tried to find a solution to the correlation of health and status. Her proposition was that the rich live longer because they are smarter. The crucial points in the study are that:

(a) social status correlates strongly and positively with IQ and other measures of intelligence;

(b) intelligence correlates strongly with “health literacy,” the ability to understand and follow a prescription for disease prevention and treatment; and

(c) intelligence is also correlated with forward-planning—which means avoidance of health risks as are identified (FORBES, 2004).

In her paper Life, Death, and Intelligence, Gottfredson mentioned that preventing and managing both chronic disease and accidental injury, the leading causes of death today, is a highly cognitive process. In the Journal of Personality; Social Psychology in 2004, Gottfredson cited a 1993 study that shows that more than half of the 1.8 billion prescriptions issued annually in the U.S. are taken incorrectly. The same study reported that 10% of all hospitalizations resulted from patients' inability to manage their drug therapy. These studies only show that the ability to comprehend things around in a more critical way determines not only our success in life but our very own existence.

As what is propounded in the studies mentioned, intelligent people tend to be more knowledgeable about health issues or at least have the propensity to learn more and understand better their health. Health literacy matters to people whose level of intelligence can recognize the importance of knowing the risks of our choices to our health. Our next step requires us to increase our IQ now for a healthier and more successful life.

But the next question is: can we really increase our IQ? If not, are those who have IQ below 100 points doomed to be unwell, hence, less successful? How do we explain the existence of people who have superior IQs and yet are totally in a state of health imbalance?

These things are just some of the few things that I think of in between reading cases and Facebook.

Two for Taft: Let's attend the benefit concert and the unity run

2011-01-30T17:29:00.000-08:00

If you cannot go to the concert but would want to help, just donate to us through the numbers posted here. Thank you very much!

Sports for Men is like a Religion

2011-01-26T08:12:00.000-08:00

Sports is like a religion for men. So when they ask for their "prayer" time, don't snatch away the remote from them because you wouldn't also want to be disturbed while you're putting your mascara on. Just wait for the game to finish. Or before the game starts, ask him if you can get 10 minutes after the game with him. For me, our men are like athletes all day. We need to pace them and train them to respond to our coaching and make them feel good when they play the game and win it.

EVENING TEAM: UP COURTS OF LAW CENTENNIAL CHAMPIONS

2011-01-24T12:58:00.000-08:00

And so we made history. For the first time, the evening team won and we won big. We are the Champions. But more than that, we are the Solid Evening Team.

Now I reflect on how we were able to make it. The team who always landed last in the past Courts of Law now emerged as the champions. Although in 2008, we already placed 2nd in the Courts of Law (YAY!). Please allow me to share the what my reflections concluded as the reasons for winning.

1. SHOWING UP

We have never defaulted a single game. NEVER. Thanks to the block presidents who always texted our players the game schedule. Thanks to our players who do not wait to be informed but had the initiative to text us, the representatives, directly for schedule. Some players, like Jop, also message us the list of players as early as Monday, 6 days before the Sunday games. And they confirm attendance. And they confirm absence. This was important because it allowed us to find other players if some cannot go.

2. PLAYING THE GAME

Half of the battle was showing up. Half of it was playing it. Who cares if some of our women players really don't know how to play basketball. Most of our futsal players were first-timers. Some of our basketball players were sick, even had a fever during the game, were injured, or had no sleep especially if we partied the Saturday night before. But that didn't stop the players from showing up and playing the game. "Maglaro ka, kahit tumayo ka lang." But no one just stood there. Everyone played.

3. SUPPORT

Every Sunday, Faith will cook trays of pasta for the team. This was the contribution of their block (3E) . Every week, we always had grocery bags funded by 4E and some individuals of 5E and 6E. Our players came mostly from 1E, 2E and 3E. JD and Golda always brought water and banana for the team. And Jop, I cannot account enough his contribution--from water to driver for the team to photographer to helping us text and call the players minutes before the game. Sabi nga niya, nagkakahawaan kami ng pagiging competitive nina Golda, siya, at ako. Nakakahawa ang pagiging competitive!

And who will not notice that the evening team always had audience? The evening blocks sent their cheerleaders and stayed until the end of the game---studying in between games inside the court. A 9-am-to-5-pm moral support. Parang work schedule lang pero dito walang sweldo.

I think the mere abundance of water, ice cubes, Gatorade, bananas, food, Burger McDo, pasta, and all the chocolate bars and cupcakes in the grocery bags boosted the morale of our players. We had people ready to give the players cold drinks during the game. Medyo nahirapan kami dito kasi minsan kulang sa tao, pero ang importante, kapag nagutom o nauhaw, may makukuha ang mga naglalaro.

4. CONSISTENCY

All the above three items were consistently applied on the three Sundays of the Courts of Law. Bawal mag-falter. Dapat consistent.

These four points, in my humble opinion, were the reasons why we won.

Proud lang ako sa team. Obvious ba? Hehe. Maraming salamat sa buong evening community for being team players. Sobra-sobra. Salamat.

VICTORY PARTY ON FEB. 5, 7PM, BAHAY NI JOP. POST MIDTERMS PARTY NA RIN. Galingan natin sa mga exams. Para sa lahat ng laro, lumaban.

CONGRATULATIONS! *group hug*

IMHO: Internal Locus Control Fights Bad Luck

2011-01-15T07:26:00.000-08:00

In my previous post, I wrote about confirmation bias and self-fulfilling prophecy and suggested that cognitive therapy is one way to deal with our prejudices or how we tend to collect only statements or theories that would support our stand.

Today, I was reminded of "internal locus control" and how sometimes I forget that our existence depends largely on how we deal with our lives. For people who believe in bad luck, psychologists say that they have "external locus control" or there are a lot of things in their lives, if not all, that they believe are not within their control. They blame everything except themselves. The opposite is the belief that we can control our situation, that bad luck is just the product of your own decisions and if there are things that are not working for you, then you can change it by changing yourself or whatever it is that is not working for you anymore.

I was blaming bad luck for things that are actually within my control--backing up my files so that I don't fret at this time for not finding the most important folder in my files, running my anti-virus and spybot everyday so that I don't have to be stressed with my files' security from viruses, putting things in their proper places so that I don't spend hours looking for them and not finding them, and sticking to schedules so that I don't find myself more stressed than I should. At this hour, I miss Sven and his consistency in securing everything in place. Even me, literally and figuratively. But again, I have to do this myself.

Today, I was reminded about internal locus control and that it is perfectly alright to be anal about certain things and that the new zodiac sign dates do not change your destiny. If you are lazy, you are lazy not because you are a certain sign but because you chose to be. Deal with yourself.

100 Years na ang UP Law. Ano bang meron sa 100 years?

2011-01-10T21:38:00.000-08:00

100 years na ang UP College of Law. Abstract masyado ang 100 years. Binilang ko ito sa araw, 36, 525 days na ang nakalipas simula nang itatag ang UP Law. Kung gawin ko pang linggo, 5, 217 weeks old na tayo. Abstract. Ako ay 9, 743 days old na, 26.67% ng tanda ng UP Law. Abstract pa rin.

Sa status message ni Dean Leonen, ito ang nakuha ko:

‎[4 Philippine Presidents], 12 Supreme Court Chief Justices, 75 Associate Justices, 8 Senate Presidents, 8 Speakers of the House of Representatives, 111 Senators, 248 Members of the House of Representatives, 52 members of the Batasang Pambansa, 3 UP Presidents, countless diplomats, public interest lawyers, entrepreneurs: UP Law at 100

Sa loob ng isang daang taon, pinatakbo natin ang bansang ito. Kumbaga kung may relasyon ang UP Law at ang Pilipinas, hawak-kamay na sila nung panahong tayo ay nasa ilalim pa ng mga Amerikano. Sina President Roosevelt at President Taft ng Republicans ang mga presidente ng Amerika na unang nakarelasyon ng UP Law. Nakita ni Emilio Aguinaldo ang unang pagkakatatag sa atin. 42 years old na siya nun at 10 taon na siyang wala sa posisyon nung itinatag tayo. Si George Malcolm ay 30 years old pa lang nung itinatag ang UP Law at College Secretary pa lang siya nun. Si Justice Moreland ang unang dean pero binigay niya agad kay Malcolm ang Deanship. Achiever din tong si Malcolm dahil 35 years old pa lang siya nung una siyang naging Associate Justice ng Supreme Court. Tatlong presidente ng Pilipinas ang maaaring naging estudyante niya--sina President Laurel, Roxas at Quirino. Maaaring naimpluwensiyahan niya sila one way or another at nahuling may love life sa unibersidad.

Nandiyan na rin ang UP Law nung nagsimula ang World War I, World War II, Cold War at nung natapos ang mga gerang ito, nung nagbagsak ng bomba ang mga Hapon sa Pearl Harbor, nung nag-declare ng Martial Law si President Marcos na graduate din ng UP Law, kasama rin ang mga studyante at guro natin sa EDSA I, EDSA II, EDSA III, nakita natin ang "resignation" ni President Erap (na hindi taga UP Law), ang mga kontrobersiya ni GMA (na hindi rin taga UP Law) at hanggang ngayon nandito pa rin tayo binabatikos ang Korte Suprema (na dapat lang).

Naalala ko tuloy ang sabi nung pedikurista ko: "Sino ba ang nasa administrasyon? UP. Sinong nasa oposisyon? UP. Sinong nagra-rally sa kalsada? UP. Kayo ang nagpapatakbo ng bansang ito."

Saan na ba tayo papunta pagkalipas ng isang daang taon? Saan ba natin dadalhin ang bansang ito pagkatapos ng isang daang taon nang tayo ay maitatag? Ito ba ang Pilipinas na gusto natin ngayon?

Marami pa tayong magagawa. Tayong mga batang henerasyong ng UP Law. Kung ang average age ay nasa 70, may halos 50 years pa tayo para mabago ang sistema ng bayan. Kalahati ng ipinagdidiwang nating birthday ng UP Law ngayon. Sa 150th year nito, ang mga ginawa natin para sa bayan ang ise-celebrate ng UP Law at 150.

Huwag nating kakalimutan ang araw na ito. Itaga natin sa bato, aasenso din ang bayang ito. Ang bayan natin.

Happy 100th Birthday UP Law.

100 Years of Honor and Excellence.
100 Years of Teaching Law in the Grand Manner.
100 Years of Making Great Lawyers.
100 Years of UP Law.

* I got the information about Dean Moreland and Dean Malcolm from Wikipedia.

What was the bird thinking?

2011-01-09T07:40:00.000-08:00

I was walking this morning on my way to the Courts of Law activity when I saw two birds flying above me. I stopped walking and watched them fly. One of the birds, as it glided in the wind, suddenly folded its wings as if it wanted to free fall. And it allowed itself to free fall for three seconds before it stretched its wings, flapped them and glided again. It surprised me when it folded its wings. What was it thinking?

The courage to jump. The courage to fall. The courage to fly. The courage to move on and glide in the wind.

The beauty of gravity. Without it, the birds cannot fly. Without it, the birds cannot soar.

When we glide, the lift force counteracts the drag.
Gliding is both a vertical and a forward force.
Know when to glide.

IMHO: Spiritual exercise is a necessity to lead oneself and others

2011-01-07T05:38:00.000-08:00

Chris Lowney published a book entitled Heroic Leadership and because I do not have the time now to read it, I searched for a summary of his book. I saw a powerpoint presenation and started to read the 51 slides. Apparently, he believes in the Jesuit approach and has explained such heroic leadership with a Loyola framework.

On his 36th slide, he mentioned what he calls a debilitating ego-itch and he put it this way:

I am terrified of failing; I need to feel important and be the center of attention; I'm insecure about my real talent and worth.

He mentioned that money is usually the salve for some of these debilitating ego-itch.

So I read on and looked for what the author is suggesting to deal with this kind of ego-itch. He suggested that a person has make leadership like a way of living. He meant leadership not just in groups but more importantly self-leadership. To achieve this, he suggested a method called spiritual exercise and mentioned ways on how to do such exercises. I particularly like the THE EXAMEN where a person reminds himself or herself of key personal goals upon rising, after the noon meal and after supper. I have been trying to do this but I always forget the after noon meal, that is why at the end of the day, sometimes I ask what happened to my day. I feel tired but I tend to forget where I spent my energy in the past hours. The Examen, for me, is imperative.

To end, I would like to state a question that he posed in the presentation/book:

What would motivate you that you would go further than wholehearted service to achieve it?

The author mentioned that asking oneself and coming up with an answer, all but guarantees motivated, imaginative engagement.

IMHO: We should consider the bigger picture when making resolutions

2011-01-04T18:41:00.000-08:00

and when I say this, I don't only mean New Year's resolutions.

One of the posts that I have clicked on during the Christmas break was this: Making a New Year’s Resolution? Don’t!

The article was originally published in 2008 and was reposted by the site because they still believe in the same philosophy two years after. I am perfectly in agreement with the list of advices on how to achieve one's resolutions. However, I am in vehement disagreement with its advice as to not make new year's resolutions because we are going to break them anyway. What kind of logic is that? Really? I could agree if it was stated this way-- "Do not make new year's resolutions unless..." The former is just too arrogant and non sequitur.

So, I posted my opinion in that article and I am reposting my comment here:

People break their resolutions because the things that they want to do do not fit or are not factored in the bigger picture of themselves. When one starts to write his/her resolutions, it is indispensable that one reflects on the ff:
who are you, where have you been, what is your purpose, what is your meaning, where are you going, who do you want to be with, where do you want to go, what is it that you want.
The resolutions should be written inspired and motivated by the answers to these questions. Short-term vision of self vs long-term vision of self. The short-term allows you to handle things before you, long-term allows us to be flexible with the circumstances that we are faced at present.
One cannot just say that people should not write down resolutions because they are going to break them anyway without going into the core of the reason why they break it in the first place–lack of inspiration.
I hope the people who read this will be inspired to embrace the new year with hope that they can achieve what their hearts have been aching for.
Pau Duman

My comments are inspired by Deepak Chopra and Ryan Balisacan. Happy new year to all of you! May you resolve to do what you want to do and train your mind to always act to what the situation demands from you (Seneca).

I wish you inspiration to execute all plans this year. Achieve them. Have the heart to follow through.

Great Day with Toff Lamug at the University of the Philippines Diliman

2011-01-04T07:57:00.000-08:00

Sa liwanag mo

ipininta ang ligaya ko

niyakap ang lalim ng pag-iisip

at anino ng nakalipas

Sa'yo ako nakasalalay.

IMHO: We should consider Green IT when purchasing electronic gadgets

2011-01-02T21:52:00.000-08:00

Professor Owen Lynch in our Environmental Justice class asked for volunteers to report before Christmas break. Knowing well that students are already in their Christmas vacation mode, he enticed us by giving extra points to those who will bravely accept the invitation. He said he does not want to cram all our reports this coming year. Sherwin and I volunteered, his was Eco-Fashion and mine this, Green IT.

I have posted my powerpoint presentation at my Scribd account. Initially, I wanted to report on environmental provision in the Local Government Code, remedies, and existing jurisprudence on the roles of the LGU in the promotion of environmental projects. I was particularly interested in the roles of the LGU in the prevention of floods, their roles after such disasters, and how they can balance, for example, protecting the environment and upholding human rights in cases where there are demolitions to be executed based on legal grounds. Green IT was my second option and Green Weddings was my third. He replied that I choose a topic that I am not well versed with. I thought, all of the above. But he encouraged that I choose the second option and I gladly took it.

It made me excited for I did not know how mainframes work through virtualization and how this can save energy in the long run. Neither did I know that a search in Google produces 0.2g of CO2 nor the news in Netherlands that WI-FI is bad for trees. When I check out new laptops these days, I look for eco-labels which I did not do before and the DO NOT DISPOSE sign (known as the WEEE Directive) that would indicate that the manufacturer has a system of disposal of these electronic gadgets. I only have to turn it over to them so that they can dispose it properly.

In summary (with the presumption that you have viewed the presentation posted), there are innovations in the manufacture of new technologies with a great consideration in producing a greener IT. These are backed up by laws such as the European Directives and fiscal incentives by states to manufacturers who follow the standards imposed, for example, in the disposal of such electronic gadgets. As stated in one OECD paper, Towards Green ICT Strategies, green technology for a green economy.

IMHO: We should be prepared for Cyberwars and Cyber Attacks

2010-09-25T06:28:00.000-07:00

My partner and I discussed cyberwars over running errands two weekends ago. He mentioned that there's a worm called Stuxnet that can make factory plants explode according to recent news. We discussed this while I complain about my laptop crashing down when it's nearing finals week. I was absentmindedly putting bread, spread, and hotdogs into the grocery cart thinking about how vulnerable these computer systems are. I was mentally listing things I do with my laptop and how I can still be productive without it. (I decided to just wake up early everyday so that I can use the library's computer for work and school for free--working in the library is productive.) Until, I realized, he was really trying to engage me in a discussion so that I will stop thinking about my laptop.

Over text, we exchanged messages talking about international relations and law--whether the UN Security Council will have jurisdiction over this, whether this is similar to the nuclear testing case by France, whether the High Court has jurisdiction, and others. I was thinking whether impunity will be enjoyed by the perpetrator. He decided to write a paper on it while I promised myself to read more about it (since the topic that was approved for my SLR was on the Automated Elections). Risks. Management. IT. Cyberlibertarianism. Just some of the things that got stuck in my head.

IMHO, people should read more about digital armory and how in the future, ICT risk management will be a lucrative niche of our generation.

Is Stuxnet the best malware ever? Will I ever get my laptop back?

IMHO: Digital insecurity can be overcome

2010-09-25T06:27:00.000-07:00

I have never ever felt so digitally insecure. Not until this week. Let me tell you a story of a relationship I have with Toshi.

My one-year old Toshiba NB200 laptop just didn't want to turn on despite the fact that in the past months he has always been turned on by me. One day, he just wouldn't and I don't know if I have to blame myself. Did I not treat him right? Did I not maintain my relationship with him well? Did I neglect him? I panicked, like any other person would be when the most important thing in your law school-work-extracurricular activities turned his back away from you. “Was it my fault?"

The repairmen said they couldn't pinpoint the problem. "

It's a hardware problem Ma'am."

I know. It wouldn't boot up.

"You may pay P5,000 to fix this kind of problem but unfortunately, we can't fix it."

I felt like my world crumbled. Ice cold water poured over my body. No, I can't cry. But it was so painful. I have all my files with him. I have everything with him. I need to print something that I need to pass on that day. This is what I don't like about technology. I can't help but be so attached to it. I can't help but feel like a whole huge lot of my life depends on it.

But as if it is something automatic in my system, my thoughts suddenly shifted to its problem-solving hemisphere.

"Think Pau, think. This is not a problem, just a challenge."

"I have my 1.5TB HDD with my files that I backed up just recently, check. My files are all backed up and encrypted throughTruecrypt.org, check. I have backed up online too through Dropbox.com, check. I have my Flashdisk with me, check."

My only issue is this: I did not encrypt my files in my laptop and because of that I felt so digitally insecure when the repairmen had to open it up. They will run Toshi overnight, trying to figure out what happened to him. They will try to thresh out its issues, bugs, failures--everything Toshi doesn't want the world to know. Toshi is so exposed. They can check ALL my files with him. Everything. And I felt so bad I didn't do anything about it before he crashed.

Now, I'm waiting for the results of another run done to him. I may have to wait 2-3 weeks since it is entirely possible that the problem is his Mother(board) and it will demand that much attention. I can't do anything about that on my own. I need to trust the expert. I can't take it unto my own hands.

I learned my lesson. I hope I will not commit the same mistakes again. I promise to learn how to maintain relationships with electronics. Just like what the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was trying to point out--maintenance is the key.

Toshi please come back to me. I need you. Back.

IMHO: Appreciation of Social Facilitation is important in accomplishing simple tasks

2010-09-06T10:53:00.000-07:00

If you think your subordinates or teammates' job is simple and still they are slacking off on seemingly no-brainer tasks, use social facilitation.

Citing Wikipedia (my Psych profs will disagree with this but I can't find my Social Psych book now for reference):

Social facilitation is the tendency for people to be aroused into better performance on simple tasks (or tasks at which they are expert or that have become autonomous) when under the eye of others, rather than while they are alone (audience effect), or when they are working alongside other people (coactor effect). Complex tasks (or tasks at which people are not skilled), however, are often performed in an inferior manner in such situations. This effect has been demonstrated in a variety of species. In humans, it is strongest among those who are most concerned about the opinions of others, and when the individual is being watched by someone he or she does not know, or cannot see well.

This is related to Social Loafing which means:

[T]he tendency of individuals to slack in a group when work is pooled and individual performance is not being evaluated. A good example of social facilitation is a foot race (where the individual runs faster when there are other runners) as opposed to a group tug-of-war (where the work is pooled, and an individual's lack of performance is hard to notice).

In college, my groupmates and I made a study on social facilitation in Videoke. Do people perform better in singing and try to get higher scores in videoke when watched? Does the presence of an audience (scale: deliberately watching, presence of an audience but not deliberately watching, control group) facilitate their performance?

We wanted to study Videoke because we all love it but couldn't find a framework to apply to this activity. We decided finally to use social facilitation. Studying Psychology is always fun.

I can't find our paper now (must be in my HDD) but I remember that the result did not show that there was a significant effect as to how students perform when watched or not. We have evaluated our experiment as to whether doing videoke can be considered a simple task (hence we have a questionnaire prior to the experiment to determine whether the person does videoke, how often and whether it can be considered a simple task to the student, etc). We manipulated the videoke scores (high or low) and required the students to sing again (after they saw their scores). We did series of briefing and debriefing with the students as a matter of protocol.

This is a good experiment to apply in companies that have redundant simple tasks. When the task is not complex, you might want to consider having a supervisor checking their work once in a while. For complex tasks, you might consider not directing the supervisor to always check his or her subordinates tasks often. But check first if there is really an effect by running this experiment.

I will post under this article next time so studies on social facilitation but for now, this is my post.

IMHO: Confirmation Bias can only be minimized but can never be eradicated

2010-08-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

I was getting updates from my Facebook account when one of those Facebook Questions appeared at the right side of my webpage: "How can you remove confirmation bias?" This got me thinking.

So I read on confirmation bias and Wikipedia says:

Confirmation bias (also called confirmatory bias or myside bias) is a tendency for people to favor information that confirms their preconceptions or hypotheses regardless of whether the information is true. As a result, people gather evidence and recall information from memory selectively, and interpret it in a biased way.

Before I reached the end part of the article, I felt so sad to almost depressed. I realized I haven't really actively sifted and operated my thought processes in such a way that I put effort in dealing with my prejudices and biases. Most of the time, I resort to heuristics in solving problems without realizing it. I felt so sad that I had to call in a masseuse to get a relaxing body massage (did-I-just-want-to-hear-all-that-I-want-to-hear-all-this-time-drama, naks).

Before I wallow too much in that newly found depression, I wikipedia'd cognitive therapy and it says that it "seeks to help the patient overcome difficulties by identifying and changing dysfunctional thinking, behavior, and emotional responses. This involves helping patients develop skills for modifying beliefs, identifying distorted thinking, relating to others in different ways, and changing behaviors." I need to be reminded of this again so I can process these feeling and thoughts on a rational, cognitive level. Confirmation bias is similar to self-fulfilling prophecy in that a conclusion you have nurtured so well in your mind will lead your actions to achieve that conclusion. Confirmation bias is your tendency to favor those information that support your conclusion.

This reminded me of one book of Coelho, Like the Flowing River, where there is one essay where he talked about "The importance of the cat in meditation". It read:

Having recently written a book about madness, I was forced to wonder how many things we do are imposed on us by necessity, or by the absurd. Why wear a tie? Why do clocks run “clockwise”? If we live in a decimal system, why does the day have 24 hours of 60 minutes?

The fact is, many of the rules we obey nowadays have no real foundation. Nevertheless, if we wish to act differently, we are considered “crazy” or “immature”.

Meanwhile, society continues to create some systems which, in the fullness of time, lose their reason for existence, but continue to impose their rules. An interesting Japanese story illustrates what I mean by this:

A great Zen Buddhist master, who was in charge of the Mayu Kagi monastery, had a cat which was his true passion in life. So, during meditation classes, he kept the cat by his side – in order to make the most of his company.

One morning, the master – who was already quite old – passed away. His most adept disciple took his place.

- What shall we do with the cat? – asked the other monks.

As a tribute to the memory of their old instructor, the new master decided to allow the cat to continue attending the Zen-Buddhist classes.

Some disciples from the neighboring monasteries, traveling through those parts, discovered that, in one of the region’s most renowned temples, a cat took part in the meditation sessions. The story began to spread.

Many years passed. The cat died, but the students at the monastery were so used to its presence, they soon found another cat. Meanwhile, the other temples began introducing cats in their meditation sessions: they believed the cat was truly responsible for the fame and excellence of Mayu Kagi’s teaching, and in doing so forgot that the old master was a fine instructor.

A generation passed, and technical treatises began to appear about the importance of the cat in Zen meditation. A university professor developed a thesis – which was accepted by the academic community – that felines have the ability to increase human concentration, and eliminate negative energy.

And so, for a whole century, the cat was considered an essential part of Zen-Buddhist studies in that region.

Until a master appeared who was allergic to animal hair, and decided to remove the cat from his daily exercises with the students.

There was a fierce negative reaction – but the master insisted. Since he was an excellent instructor, the students continued to make the same scholarly progress, in spite of the absence of the cat.

Little by little, the monasteries – always in search of new ideas, and already tired of having to feed so many cats – began eliminating the animals from the classes. In twenty years time, new revolutionary theories began to appear – with very convincing titles such as “The Importance of Meditating Without a Cat”, or “Balancing the Zen Universe by Will Power Alone, Without the Help of Animals”.

Another century passed, and the cat withdrew completely from the meditation rituals in that region. But two hundred years were necessary for everything to return to normal – because during all this time, no one asked why the cat was there.

With these thoughts now in my mind, I now have a running question in my head: How many of my decisions have largely involved confirmation biases? Probably a lot.

But my life is so happy now that I realized, maybe pragmatism and confirmation bias work for me. But is that all that is important? Relativity of two coordinates--my life and my happiness.

See the bias?

IMHO: People can juggle work, formal school, informal school, advocacies and relationships thru the Internet

2010-08-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

For a working law student, it is such a pain to juggle everything. EVERYTHING. In the past 5 years of my life, I have been trying to strike a balance between commuting to work, finishing all my tasks for the day, reading cases in MRT trains and UP-Pantranco jeepneys, not spending lunch time for eating but studying, checking my calendar for midterm and finals schedules vis-a-vis my available leaves, making money from 8 am to 5 pm so that I can pay my bills, rent, tuition and photocopies and dinners and parties with friends. On some days, you spend more for medicines and hospital bills because your immunity system just breaks down.

For the life of me, I don't understand too why I still involve myself with a lot of extra-curricular activities such as student council and advocacies. But when I look at my blockmates, I know I am not alone and it consoles me. Some travel from Manila or Makati to Diliman everyday, even on Saturdays, to make ends meet. On Sundays, some still give the time to volunteer for some causes they believe in. Professors in our block use the net to communicate with their students. Some of us research for work while inside the classrooms as we wait for our professors.

The internet has played a major role in helping us juggle everything. For cases that we can't photocopy because we are still at work, we email each other. For digests, sample exams, reviewers that our block can't make, we find them online. For catharsis, we use instant messengers to rant. Facebook is our escape and Lawphil our partner in saving money from all those photocopies which we may never even have the chance to read.

Now, I am waiting for a confirmation from an online part-time job I applied for (www.RareJob.com). I thought, since I now have a DSL connection, I might as well use it to earn income. Since I can't always see my friends in real life because of work-school-extracurric, I use the internet to connect with them. Since I don't have the money and the time to enroll in Language schools, I just go online to learn some German phrases. Since my boyfriend is in Europe, I thank Skype for giving me a way to express how much I feel for him. Since I don't want to spend P18 a day for newspapers, I make PDI my homepage. Since I am for protecting the environment, I check my bills online. Since I don't read all the cases I photocopy which is really a waste of money, I just read my cases online or thru E-juris. Some of the jobs I am eyeing for after law school, I found online.

I manage my work, law school, advocacies, council work, and relationships online. And I only pay for the monthly fee for DSL, electricity, and the purchase price of my laptop.

In my humble opinion, internet is the cheapest management tool there is now.

IMHO: Software and applications for holograms will be the next big thing

2010-08-14T14:54:00.001-07:00

I wrote previously that getting acquired by Google, Yahoo or Facebook is still a next-big thing. But of course, we all want to know what will be the next big thing similar to Google, Yahoo and Facebook.

We all want to know the next big thing. But what is it?

Scroll down:

In my humble opinion, software and applications for holograms are the next big thing. I have always envisioned the future without much of the present hardware for phones, computers, and other gadgets. I am all for a paperless and hardware-less future. This has been my dream since I watched Star Wars. Those who can create technologies with this framework can be the next Steve Jobs.

In the next generations, people can watch FIFA through Avatar's (the movie) technology.

IMHO: ICT will make this generation's teenagers millionaires

2010-08-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

When this 16-year old kid got his first million after 2 years in his business, we know that in this generation and probably in the next one, there will be more young millionaires. Of course, this is not unprecedented. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, launched his website in 2004, when he was just a sophomore student at Harvard. After some years, he has become one of the youngest billionaires around the world. I can't help but think of Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers whenever I read about these stories. In that book, he said:

"[T] he biggest misconception about success is that we do it solely on our smarts, ambition, hustle and hard work."

In Outliers, he hopes to show that there are a lot more variables involved in an individual's success than society cares to admit, and he wants people to "move away from the notion that everything that happens to a person is up to that person" (from Wikipedia).

Am I just rationalizing through Gladwell's theory these people's success that in my humble opinion, if the Filipino people are born in such an environment, with more access to these things and with a government that supports ICT as an integral, if not fundamental, aspect of education, maybe, just maybe, the young millionaires will sprout across the Pearl of the Orient?

It just makes me restless and frustrated to see our country so behind in ICT and its integration in education and governance. I believe, given the same opportunities, our kids can do equally well in making their millions. These days, it is quite clear where the money is going. In my humble opinion, access to ICT resources and opportunities will largely determine who will be the next big thing in Forbes Magazine. And that next person may just be 9 years old making apps for your Smartphones.

IMHO: Digital dignity and digital ego cannot exist apart from the real person

2010-08-08T20:45:00.001-07:00

My partner posted a blog about digital dignity and proposed that it can be hurt. This digital dignity is supposed to be connected to a digital ego which exists virtually. Hence, one can digitally hurt someone without really hurting the real person (my deduction).

On his Facebook page, comments have been posted about this ephemeral (in my perspective) concept. I argued that digital dignity cannot exist apart from the real person represented by the digits. Moreover, one cannot argue that this dignity is inherent in that digits hence deserved to be respected.

His argument: In MMORPGs, there were instances that a character can be raped. Also, you may be great rivals online but when you see each other in person, so long as you don't know each other's character names online, there exists a separate ego in that "real environment" (my deduction from his arguments). But online, they may be hurting each other's digital ego or dignity.

But what is interesting for me is this: There have been fora on Universal Declaration of Human Rights and New Human rights include Digital Dignity. In one blog also, it says:

What amazes me is the total lack of concern regarding one’s basic ownership of one’s personal data. Why are we not paid when someone reads our data, stores our data, translates it into something compelling to advertisers and other third parties, and then sells it at incredibly high profit margins? Why are we not paid when a spammer sends to our email address or Twitter account unwanted emails about idiotic advertisements?

With that he proposed that persons and data are not free hence there is a need to recognize digital dignity. But still, I don't see any rational analysis that will prove that it exists. Don't we first prove its existence before we even talk about rights that arises from its existence thus the need of protecting it?

On a final note, this is what I commented:

This is stimulating--having triggered too many concepts: ego, digital, dignity, and reality. Oh, and the concept of a digital hurting, which is a witty oxymoron, methinks. In my opinion, there is no dichotomy--whether the ego is in the real or in the virtual environment, because it relates to only one person who is the point of reference. Not because a person is creating many personalities in his or her environment means that there is a need to distinguish such person. Hence, the hurting part cannot be digital (environment) but personal (source). If it is personal, it is not the dignity of the digits that is hurt but the person. My point being, there is no barrier between the digits and the person that represents it.

If my premises and conclusion are valid, then it will bring the train of thought to what Ms. Lorelyn mentioned about the perspective you will take depending on one's knowledge of the person, who contains/owns/has the ego, which can manifest in different environments. It cannot translate to a personal ego and a digital ego because it will not stand the rational/philosophical analysis (i.e. if p then q). That's like schizo. :p Unless we can apply dissociative identity disorder (DID) online.

In my humble opinion, when they say that defriending someone online hurts their digital ego, it really means you are hurting that person and not his or her digits.

IMHO: Ubiquity is achieved online

2010-08-07T01:34:00.001-07:00

Ubiquity.

Among the millions and millions of website hosts, there is a need to collect the good ones. And because there are people who believe in this too, it's not difficult to find a collection of good and useful sites.

In my case, I found this article of Mashable useful--with the framework that one wants to be everywhere all at the same time. The operative word is self-publication and the internet can make your work outlive you or a century.

If you want to showcase YOUR food, artwork, collectibles, books, magazines, food and drink, music and video, software and video games and anything, even your own house and your life like The Truman show movie, you can find the perfect host. To cause a viral, you also have a lot of websites to do just that.

Personalize it.

Whether the internet promotes individualism or community, I haven't really read much literature on it. Only that I know that it promotes. And I like that it promotes self-expression. So when I read this article on websites where you can personalize things, I really thought "Wow, I can make my own bags and shoes online and purchase it! Hmm, but since I made the design, can I be charged only for the materials? Wait, who will own my design? Let's check the terms and conditions."

I like it not so much about personalizing stuff that makes me happy although that is part of it. I like it because it helps me stimulate my creativity and see things around me in a different light. Like I look at pens, tables, chairs, books, notebooks, etc and make me visualize it in a different form or appearance.

The Value of Ubiquity and Personality

In my humble opinion, it is increasing your social capital, among others. Not to mention physical capital and human capital which you can invest it and reap its rewards, whether in the same form or not. The person will die but the URL can live forever. Or can't it?

IMHO: Choose to get acquired by Google, Yahoo, or Facebook if you still don't have that billion dollar baby

2010-08-07T01:33:00.001-07:00

When Raina wrote her Billion Dollar Baby post, it got me thinking. This thing called the internet, manifested through this monitor in front of me, is the one of the richest sources of, well, riches. With all the apps being developed for social networking sites, with all the other social networking sites that sprouted and still are sprouting everywhere, and the million of dollars it can put in your bank account, a lot of people are thinking about the next big thing and we are all waiting for it.

Today, some people got richer. These are the owners of Slide which was acquired by Google for $182 million. At the other side of this story is Facebook acquiring $40-million worth of Social Networking Patents. Lesson is: If you can't create the next big thing just yet, create something that the present big thing/s might decide to acquire (and of course, it has to be from you).

Either that or you do something that will be considered viral that will catch the attention of online communities. Today, Prop 8 was declared unconstitutional and the Scribd account owner who posted the decision got the attention of the Scribd community. It is considered viral if it reaches 100,000 views within 24 hours. This year, some short films have caught the attention of Hollywood and gave them some $30 million-worth of contract. Not bad.

In my humble opinion, getting acquired and being viral are still a next-big-thing.

IMHO: Children and their parents should be given lessons on online security

2010-08-07T01:32:00.000-07:00

Imagine Facebook having 500 million users. Imagine that among those users, criminals are also there probably just two degrees connected to you. You may have viewed their profiles or they may have viewed yours. Imagine someone could probably be browsing your albums now and saving your pictures for his or her own evil purposes.

When the news about the Facebook murderer came out in March, parents panicked. Before them, they see their child safe but virtually they don't know if they are. The panic button in Facebook was advocated but ruled out--committing only to improving the existing system which I am trying to follow now.

This need to do something about the existing system doesn't apply to FB alone. There are a lot of ways to connect with your children online and you want to know who are these people and what they are doing to your children.

How do you control it?

Having a 5-year old niece who plays games on Facebook really made me think about child security online. She doesn't only use Facebook but also Youtube, the latter more frequently than the former. She searches for insects, birds laying eggs, Barney, Toy Story, Barbie and whatever she wants to watch within her 10-minute attention span. When she does so, my mom or my dad is watching her. Sometimes, we ask her to write down on a sheet of paper the things she searched for. Of course, you can always check the browser's history to check what she has been up to.

At her school, they are taught how to use the computer, its parts, and how to take care of it. I haven't checked their curriculum for this year if online security is part it. In my humble opinion, parents should really start getting serious about this and should consider schools which take this seriously too. I have to look for materials on how to teach kids online security. If you got suggestions on this, please let me know.

IMHO: People should prioritize customizing privacy settings but should create their own "About me" site

2010-08-07T01:31:00.000-07:00

There has a lot of talk about Facebook and its privacy settings. With more than 500 million friends now connected through what we call FB, there is a lot of potential through this in either building a person's image and reputation or totally wrecking it. As Robert Greene said,

Law 5: So Much Depends on Reputation. Guard it with your Life.
Once you lose some of your reputation you are on a slippery slope. Protect your reputation while, at the same time, destroying your enemies' reputations.

But.

The action doesn't stop there. Instead of reacting to all attacks to your privacy, one should also consider making their own "about me" site or a source of information about themselves. Although you don't want the public to get some specific information about you, you don't want to the public to get also WRONG information about you.

Point is: In my humble opinion, you can control to a certain substantial extent the information you want the public to know about you.

Case in point: During the SONA forum at the UP College of Law, our Public Affairs Committee volunteers researched for the credentials of our speakers. Although one may argue that it is best that we just ask from the speakers these information, you cannot also discount the fact that some people will resort to just searching information about you on the net.

Result: Professor Hilbay's credentials that were found were 7 years obsolete while Representative Walden Bellos' credentials were at least 5 years obsolete. This goes without saying that the committee involved in the forum knows better next time to ask straight from the resource speaker what information they want to disclose. But this only proves my point here in this blog that people should consider what the internet says about who they are.

Credit: Thanks to my partner who has been very determined in organizing my virtual life (not only in terms of privacy settings but in terms of content and quantity as well). Although I still have to track all the social networking sites that I have, wittingly or unwittingly, subscribed to, it really makes me feel empowered and more secured to be able to, in a sense, "control" to an extent what strangers can get about me.

I need to check again how one applies for a credit card and see whether the information needed there are available in the net, say for example, from links derived from my name in the search engine. In the process, I need to know whether the information that is said about me in the net is something that I want the public to know.