Fuck.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Your Brain Sees Things That You Don’t
1. Is attention and awareness the same thing?
No. Recent studies show that a person’s attention can focus on something without actually being aware of it. A recent study conducted showed that an eight-year-old boy who is blind in an area of his right visual field could still point a dot flashed to his right field of vision even without being aware of its location. He insisted that he does not see a dot but when asked to point to the dot, he accurately gets it most of the time. This phenomenon is called blindsight discovered by 1970’s British researchers Larry Weiskrantz, Nicole Humphrey, and others. This happens when there is a damaged part in the primary visual cortex that dismisses consciousness of what one sees.
2. Do people with no brain damage experience this phenomenon?
Yes. Another study showed that people with no brain damage still attends to small things when flashed even without actually being aware of seeing the distraction.
A right dot flashed in the right of the screen where subjects are looking at. When a number flashes, they are asked to say the number as quickly as possible. When the number flashed on the right after the dot flashed, the subjects were able to quickly tell the number. However, when the number flashed on the left after the dot flashed on the right, the response time was slower because their attention needed to adjust. Therefore, the dot snags attention even if the subjects were not aware of the dot that appeared.
3. What is the attention schema theory and how does it explain the difference between attention and awareness?
The theory is an attempt to explain the relationship between awareness and attention. Attention only handles the data presented. It is only the way of how the brain focus on an object. Meanwhile, awareness it the interpretation of what one is attending to. It is the general description of the brain of what the brain attends.
Another explanation would be attention is a process that does not change while awareness is a process where one monitors what is being attended. These two processes most of the time come in pair that is why if awareness is removed, attention would start to lose its accuracy.
Reference:
Graziano M. (2016). Your Brain Sees Things That You Don’t. Retrieved from: http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/04/awareness-and-attention/476943/
Hello! If a notification appeared on your device upon my posting this, turn it off. Thanks. (This goes not only to you, Sophia. Haha)
It has been a long time since I was here. Much has changed.
By looking at my feed, I am disappointed at my old self. This feed is not what I want to see yet it’s on the screen.
Yes, I am disappointed at my old self. But I am quite sure, my old self would be as disappointed, if not more, with myself right now. I have changed, for the worse I guess.
How To Deal With Annoying People
Okay. Just today someone requested me to blog about how to deal with annoying people. (through ask.fm/carlobasbas wehehehe)
First, let’s start philosophically. (I am currently taking a course about philosophy so yeah, it kind of sticks.)
We can’t remove the fact that we, ourselves, are annoying. We maybe annoyed of ourselves especially after stupid decisions. Other people are constantly annoyed of us, either secretly or openly. So, what seems to be the norm for us might be annoying for others. And we don’t want to change what seems to be the norm for us. It’s our norm. For us it’s ethical, so why change it to impress other people? This brings us to number 1.
1. Don’t confront them.
This is the Carlo Basbas way, I don’t know if your method is the same but since you asked for ‘how I deal with annoying people,’ of course, this would be subjective.
I don’t confront people as much as possible. I tolerate them when I face them; then I backstab them. Yes. The word ‘backstab’ is a very serious word in the Filipino society. But hell, every time you talk about someone, you backstab them so don’t act innocent. Everyone talks about people behind their backs. It’s human nature. Especially after storing your annoyance.
For example, I happen to have a classmate in a subject that annoys me very much. I don’t act like I want to hit him in the face. I only act so after class, when I am with a close friend and when he is about hundreds of meters away.
Why is this better for me? Because people are naturally close-minded. Yes, they may say they are open-minded to a lot of things. But a change in attitude/opinion? I don’t think so. Humans stand firmly when it comes to their decisions. If you confront them, nothing will happen. It will be just like talking to a wall.
2. Just avoid them.
So, you are annoyed of them, huh? Then simply ignore them. Try to be as far away as possible. If they sit at the back of the class, sit at the front and vice versa.
Nothing forces you to mingle with each other, so why even bother to interact with each other? But if unavoidable, just try acting as ‘plastik’ as possible.
You might think being ‘plastik’ is bad. But for me it really isn’t that bad. Unless you’re doing it to do something worse (like you’re spying to get some juicy information). It’s like you are promoting peace despite all the swear words you’re thinking of. And anything that promotes peace is nice (maybe?).
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So, yeah. That is how I deal with annoying people. I just don’t know if this would be applicable for you.
Sorry for all the grammatical errors and incoherence. I am just not in the mood to write.
My head is drifting off but I’m not that drowsy. It’s now day two of not having enough sleep. Yesterday, I only had five hours of sleep. This day, I think I’d be having 3.5 hours of sleep. It’s now 3AM and I gotta go somewhere at 7AM.
I am not like this. I am a very diurnal type of guy. I follow the science-recommended amount of sleep for a teenager, which is about eight to ten hours. But I don’t know what’s happening.
Maybe I’m slowly transforming into a nocturnal. But still, I want to be diurnal. I hate being awake at midnight. It makes me think of things I wouldn’t have thought about earlier that day.
Okay. Time to sleep.
Mahirap maging mahirap
Mahirap maging mahirap. Sasabihin nilang hindi ka mahirap. Dahil para sa kanila, ang tunay na mahirap ay ang mga musmos sa kalsada at ang mga iskwater sa tabi ng ilog. Na ang tunay na mahirap ay ang mga hindi na makakain ng tatlong beses isang araw. Na ang tunay na mahirap ay ang nagbabatak ng buto. Na kapag may sasakyan, cellphone, laptop at kung ano pa ay mayaman kayo. Hindi ka mahirap. Mayaman ka. Dahil panglabas lang ang tinitingnan. At kung tutuusin, may damit kang hindi binili sa ukay-ukay, may cellphone kang Android ang operating system, at kumakain ka. Kahit gaano pa kayo kalubog sa utang, kahit gaano pa kaliit ang suweldo ng mga nagtatrabaho sa pamilya mo, wala silang pakialam. Dahil panglabas lamang ang tinitingnan nila.
Mahirap maging mahirap. Magugutom ka. Pagkatapos mong mananghalian, maaring hindi ka na magmeryenda. Kahit sobrang payat mo na, wala kang karapatang magreklamo. Dahil wala na kayong pera. Minsan, kapag ika’y aalis, mas pipiliin mong hindi na kumain. Kahit ikaw ay kasing-nipis na ng isang tingting, kahit ikaw ay gutom na, kahit ikaw ay underweight at ilang beses nang pinaalala ng doktor na kumain nang maayos. Wala kang magagawa. Dahil ang pangkain mo ay pamasahe mo pauwi. Mamamayat ka. Pero wala kang pakialam, basta makatipid lamang, gagawin mo ang lahat. ‘Yung dati mong timbang na 45 kilos? Na sobrang gaan na para sa kanila? Naku. Magiging 39 kilos pa ‘yan.
Mahirap maging mahirap. Makokonsensiya ka. Alam mong hirap na hirap na ang mga magulang mo. Samantalang ikaw ay petiks lang. May babayaran kang matrikula. Kapag nagkasakit, daan-daan na naman ang magagastos. Kapag naggagala, bente na lang hihingin mong pera, pamasahe papunta at pabalik. At kahit bente pa ‘yan, makokonsensiya ka pa rin. Bawat pisong ginagastos mo. Utang man ‘yan ni nanay o suweldo ni tatay, malalaman mo ang halaga. Tuwing sasabihin mong kailangan mo ng pera para sa iba’t ibang bagay para sa paaralan. Magtitinginan sila. At mag-iisip kung paano maibibigay sa ‘yo. Alam mong maaaring umiiyak na ang mga magulang mo tuwing gabi dahil hindi lang naman ikaw ang pinaggagastusan. May mga kapatid ka pa. May babayaran pang utilities (kuryente at tubig). Masakit. Masakit makitang nahihirapan sila. Masakit malaman na ikaw ang isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit naghihirap.
Mahirap maging mahirap. Magtitiis ka. Walang ka dapat pakialam sa pera kahit ikaw ay isang teenager na maraming pangangailangan at gusto. Pipigilin mo ‘yan. Sasalain mo lahat ng maaarin mong bilhin. Tuwing mamimili, laging presyo ang tinitingnan at kung makakatipid ng piso ay doon ka na agad. Para sa iba, “Piso lang ‘yan.” Para sa ‘yo, “Pisong pinaghirapan ‘yan.” Magtitiis ka rin sa mga gamit sa bahay. Wala kayong ref, TV, internet, oven, flush, etc. At kung may masira man sa bahay, magtiis ka, wala kang magagamit.
Mahirap maging mahirap. Pero ika nga sa Ingles, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” Oo, mahirap kayo. At mayroon ‘yang mga positibong epekto. Matututo kang maglakad, nang maglakad, nang maglakad. Dahil kung kayang lakarin, lakarin mo na lang, dahil sayang ang otso. Na kung nasa gate ka ng UPLB at sa UHS ka pupunta, lalakarin mo na lang, kahit gaano kainit ang paligid. Dahil sayang ang otso. Matututo ka ring magtipid. Ang baon mong isang daan kada araw (kapag ikaw ay nasa sekundarya), ay pipilitin mong isang daan pa rin pag-uwi. Upang maibalik mo sa nanay mo, upang mabawasan ang pagkakonsensiya mo. Matututo kang mag-acting. Tuwing kasama mo ang mga kasama mo, magpapanggap kang hirap na hirap ka para naman makalibre at makatipid. Ay, mali. Hindi pala magpapanggap. Totoo palang wala kang pera. Hindi ka pala matututo mag-acting, matututo kang magpaawa. Lunukin mo na ang putanginang pride mo, para lang makatipid. Matututo ka ring maggala. Dahil ayaw mo sa bahay. Dahil bawat segundong nasa bahay ka, maaalala mong naghihirap kayo. Na gagawin mo ang lahat, malimot lang ‘to, kahit ilang oras lamang. Kapag nasa bahay naman, gagawin mo ang lahat para limutin ang realidad. Magbabasa ka ng libro. Maglalaro ka ng kung anu-anong apps. Mag-iinternet ka sa kapitbahay para lang malimutan ang kalagayan niyo.
Mahirap maging mahirap. Oo, sobrang hirap. Minsan iniisip mo na lamang, “Kailan kaya kami yayaman? O kahit lumuwag man lang?” Pero hindi mo malalaman ang sagot. Maaaring bukas, o maaaring hindi na, kailanman. Hindi niyo alam. Hindi ko rin alam. ‘Yan din ang aking tanong sa sarili bawat araw. Na sana, paggising ko, tumama na sa lotto ang tatay ko, o kaya naman ay may mabuting tao na nagbigay sa amin ng pera, o kaya naman ay may nalaglag na isang milyon mula sa langit.
Mahirap maging mahirap. Pero maaalala mo, marami pang mas mahirap sa ‘yo. Isa ka sa mga mahihirap, pero hindi halata dahil sandamakmak na mga Pilipino ang mas mahirap sa ‘yo. Kahit panindigan mo pang mahirap ka, hindi mo mabubuksan ang sarado nilang isipan.
Mahirap maging mahirap. Pero ika nga nila, hindi ka naman mahirap! Nagpapalibre pa nga sila eh. May cellphone ka kaya, may sasakyan pa, may laptop pa sa bahay at kung anu-ano pa. Gusto mong sumagot nang pabalang. Pero pipigilin mo sarili mo. At sa isip mo na lang sasabihin, “Putangina mo, palit na lang tayo ng kalagayan sa buhay, gago.”
Mahirap maging mahirap. Tingnan mo. Sa sobrang hirap, kinakausap ko na sarili ko. Mahirap, ‘no?
panic studying
So I self-studied differential calculus just this midnight.
They kept on blabbing about it in our group chat (for the chemical engineers of UPLB, batch ‘15) and I don’t even have the slightest hint of what they’re talking about.
I went to bed yesterday at 10PM but couldn’t fall asleep. I was sleepy but my mind refuses to shut down. Maybe it’s the cup of iced coffee I had earlier. Or just plain butterflies in my stomach. Nevertheless, I wasn’t able to sleep immediately.
I tried to sleep for two straight hours (with occasional peeks of my phone.) But I knew that I won’t be able to do so. So at 12AM, I opened an app I installed earlier that day. And yeah, it’s an app that teaches calculus.
So I studied limits, gradients and differentiation. Some I did not get the concept, but most I did not even know what the concept is (heh, I know this is rhetorically wrong because it’s not contrasting but I don’t care lol).
After three hours, I sort of got it. So, at around 2:30AM, (with my mom scolding me for not sleeping) I answered a seven-item quiz regarding differentiation. And guess what, I got a 6 out of 7. I wasn’t able to answer the one that used the Chain Rule because I did not know what the fuck Chain Rule is. But after taking the quiz, I studied the Chain Rule and I sort of got it too.
This morning, I continued studying diff. calc. I grabbed my brother’s calculus reviewers and started answering the questions. Some I got right, some I screwed. Luckily there’s a solution just below every problem.
I also studied chemistry (but I still don’t get the cathode ray experiment :/).
It was the most productive I’ve been this summer vacation. But the thing is, I don’t even have calculus this incoming semester. The chemistry I would be able to use but the calculus, it’ll have to wait until next semester. I only have algebra and trigonometry this semester. I guess I just wanted to be ‘in’ when they talk about calculus. Oh well, what done is done. At least, I have the faintest idea of what calculus really is all about.
On the early benefits, at least I started studying again. I know again what it feels like (after four months of being idle.) So maybe in August, I’d be good, eh? Who knows.
Four days before classes in UPLB starts. That’s when I started to study. Ironic for a nerd.
But at least I studied.
notthepilosophia