Category: Governance

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At the bottom of a ravine

I will put the choices very simply for you.

You’re riding a bus from Baguio to Sagada. You notice that the driver is a brash young boy, most probably inexperienced, perhaps even a college brat out for kicks. The bus already had a few heart-stopping near-accidents just out of Sayangan, then in Buguias, then again in Sinto and after Mt. Data–all because of the amateurish driver’s carelessness.

IRAIA thoughts
IRAIA thoughts

Then, as the bus negotiates the steep trail to Sabangan, it happens. The driver goes into a hairpin turn, barely manages it, finds out the brakes are no longer working, careens inches away from a ravine, and is finally stopped–only through sheer luck–by a short upslope road grade.

The driver insists that the bus can still make it to Sagada, or at least to the Dantay junction. But most passengers want to get down, catch their breaths, hopefully flag down the next bus, perhaps even walk to the next junction where they can hire a jeepney instead. Continue reading “At the bottom of a ravine”

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Understanding the spectrum of social squiggles

Some months ago, I attempted to conceptualize, in data-visualized form although still a kernel, of what I’ve been trying to jot down as raw notes for a blog piece. But since then, I haven’t had the chance to sit down to complete the piece.

Social squiggles through the years
Social squiggles through the years

Thus, you people are stuck with the same raw graph I posted last May. I’m sure you are curious as to what the squiggly lines of different colors represent. Let this be a little exercise for interested readers to complete the concept, without my having to launch into treatise mode. Continue reading “Understanding the spectrum of social squiggles”

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A nifty little exercise on the power of culture

There is this scenario that often happens among friends, but could also be set up as a nifty little exercise. It goes this way:

A group, say, composed of A, B, C, and so on, gather in a place where they could listen to each other’s jokes. Maybe it’s in a party, or a drinking session, or more effectively at a comedy bar. They invite Z, who doesn’t know the script; everybody or most of them do, anyway. Continue reading “A nifty little exercise on the power of culture”