WHEN THE MESSENGER BECOMES THE MESSAGE

 

Today, I no longer take pleasure in numbers -- my classroom staple then – not the calculation, but the recollection. I am an engineer; that‘s the irony. But, I am a senior citizen too; perhaps, that the reality.

For example, I can’t memorize my cell phone numbers, nor my kids’ birthdays (save my wife’s, of course, otherwise I’ll be in big trouble). I’ve never made an effort a bit in committing them to my memory because I’ve figured I could read them in my phone notes anyway (also my accountant wife, a good record keeper, can give me any of those numbers and dates anytime). Rather than recalling, I‘ve felt I have a passion for creating things in my mind: a typical case of the popular left-brain/right-brain myth during my corporate heyday then.

Perhaps, the neurologists’ claim provides a good reason for my willful sloppiness: our brains are not designed to remember numbers. In fact, according to these specialists, neither are our brains equipped to stockpile and retrieve a bulk of details at all. So, if we’re studying for any exam, it would be pointless for us to try to store in our brains all the numbers we need to memorize because our brains are, by any means, incapable to do so.

The root cause why numbers are so hard to memorize: they are abstract and unable to spark off emotional attachment to us.

To fix this dilemma, we need to create an association with numbers to remember them more effectively. For example, if we want to memorize the number “2386,” we can take the first two numbers “23” and think of Michael Jordan – his NBA jersey number. The “86” we could associate with EDSA Revolution that happened in 1986. That four-digit number “2386” could be effectively recalled by the “Jordan Edsa” name. There are other useful tricks, but here’s the bottom line: it’s hard to remember numbers.

That’s why, when I read Inez Ponce de Leon’s column about VP Leni’s gaffes being circulated online by the so-called Person from the Academic Community (PAC), it bewildered me. It’s much ado about nothing.

Let’s tackle them. Two gaffes deal with numbers: VP Leni once said that the Philippines had 1,700 islands and 40 x 4 = 1600. As I said above, it’s hard to memorize numbers, yet, VP Leni got all the four numbers correct – she only exchanged places of the first two digits – a common slip in memory. It is worthy to note that she referred to an old rounded figure of 7100. The new exact figure by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority is 7641: additional islets appeared due to the changing landform detected by the new mapping technology. VP Leni was not a Miss Universe candidate like Charlene Gonzales who answered the question "How many islands are in the Philippines?" with "High tide or low tide?" to impress the judges.

For gaffe “40 x 4 = 1600”: VP Leni got the three numbers correct but added 0. If memorizing numbers is hard enough, much more in multiplying them in our minds. Besides, she’s a lawyer, not an engineer.

For gaffe “IV needles are inserted into nerves”: First time I ran into that gaffe, here’s my train of thought: Ok, if it’s wrong, what’s the correct answer? I could not find it in my “fast-thinking system 1 mind,” so I needed to find it in my “slow-thinking system 2 mind.” I found it: either a vein or an artery. My system 2 mind was unsure though of the specific vessel that carries the flow of blood towards the heart. I needed to Google it – and found the answer – the vein. VP Leni is a lawyer, not a doctor, just like me. The last time I came upon the words “vein” and “artery” was in my High School Biology class. My wife knows the answer right away because she has hypertension. (To get to know more about systems 1 & 2, you may read my ATABAY article “Juan Tamad Within Us May Elect Our Next President.)

For gaffe “destructive force of floodwaters is due to strong electric current.” Owing to some “impulsive” reason, I think VP Leni could have said the statement using her fast-thinking system 1 that impulsively reacts. That is, just as her system 1 impulsively finishes off the phrase “bread and ___” with a “butter,” so too, it impulsively fills the blank on the phrase “___ current” with “electric.”

Leaders are just human too, prone to commit petty human errors.

Former US Vice-President Dan Quayle misspelled “potato” adding an “e” to the end of the word – a gaffe heard across the globe. A 12-year old beat him at a school spelling contest of sorts during a speaking engagement.

Former US President Obama, when asked about his bowling game, said he’s fit for the Special Olympics [for physically and intellectually disabled].

US President Joe Biden is hopeful for the “past” when he said, “I refuse to accept the notion that the United States of America is not going to lead the world economically throughout the 20^th century.”

So far, the message we untangled. Let’s deal with the messenger. As a writer, I am mindful of this proposition: “Don’t shoot the messenger”

When I decided to take the political route in my writing journey, I put together an ATABAY article “Discernment: What We All Need To Heal Our Land.” Without looking into PAC’s journalistic background and having been unable to read his past newspaper articles, I took from his column an excerpt whose profound content and impressive prose fitted my narrative like a glove. I did it again in my succeeding article “Three Converging Opportunities To Transform PH In 2022 Election” because of his objective criticism of Marcos Jr.

Soon after, his writings seemed to have turned personal. At that point, the words of Abraham Joshua Heschel have come to pass: “Man is a messenger who forgot the message.”

PAC shrouded his fierce criticism of VP Leni that has been getting too personal and deep-rooted by his so-called “epiphany” -- publicly declaring “not to openly support and endorse any candidate.” As his standard, he has been projecting an image of perfection on VP Leni persona that she doesn’t claim, in the first place. Lopsidedly, he has been criticizing her trivial shortcomings too petty vis-à-vis that of Marcos Jr’s wrongdoings. PAC’s context was too far-fetched. In a typical corporate workplace, I still have to come across an actual case where a professional interviewer asks a job applicant tricky questions to catch him or her in a “gotcha” moment.

Sad to say, PAC’s latest column on VP Leni’s gaffes and his circulating it on the internet appears to be professionally out of bounds. He has transformed himself from the messenger into THE message.