Archive for June, 2007
« Previous EntriesGood News in the News!
Saturday, June 30th, 2007After hearing about how Philippine media can be so pessimistic and cyncial, we find the following article in the news! Well, let’s all sit back and relish some good news for a change.
Note, however, the little snippet of ‘bad news’ (talk about black sheep) in the latter half of the piece. Hint: the line describes […]
Taipan Henry Sy believes, can’t we too?
Friday, June 29th, 2007Many believe that we are a generation of disillusioned youth, a flock of nonbelievers, a mass of Filipinos-by-name who believe immigration is only a matter of when, not why; why not, not caring where so long as it is away from here.
Taipan Henry Sy relates to us in an interview with the Philippine Star his […]
All You Need to Know Logic (Part 3 - Rules of Inference)
Thursday, June 28th, 2007From where we left off, we can now symbolize arguments, assess the truth value of statements, and convert statements into their more easily manageable logical equivalents via the rules of replacement. Here, we find ourselves at the end of the process, where from various statements (either true or false), we look to assess the validity […]
All You Need to Know Logic (Part 2 - Rules of Replacement)
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007Some statements may be written differently but logically mean the same thing. For example, the statement ‘if I pass the board exam, then I will inherit a thousand pesos’ is logically equivalent to ‘I will inherit a thousand pesos if I pass the board exam’. Now, this is obvious. Some logical equivalences are more subtle. […]
Part 1: Relations in Logic (Samples)
Tuesday, June 26th, 2007Understanding truth tables is key to the next steps in logical deduction. This is so simply because all that follows are based on the truth relations shown in the truth tables, that is, what follows are simply derivative rules that were designed to ease analysis of validity and , consequently, soundness.
The truth or falsity of […]
All You Need to Know Logic (Part 1 - Relations in Logic)
Monday, June 25th, 2007Everyone needs logic because everyone uses it, consciously or as a matter of habit. Clearly, this argument is a little circular, arguing in effect that we need logic because we need logic. Yet this is an immutable and apparent truth. We need logic because our language is grounded on both rules of syntax (grammar) and […]
M&A Spree, too Big? Not Quite
Sunday, June 24th, 2007China Bank acquires 87.5% of Manila Bank. China Bank is partly owned by Henry Sy’s SM Investments Corporation, the same holding firm that owns majority shares of Henry Sy’s own Banco de Oro and BDO’s new acquisition Equitable PCI. Talk about an M&A craze. While some may now begin to make side comments to the […]
Continuing Chicken&Egg#1: A Tango or a Tangle?
Sunday, June 24th, 2007Check out Carmen N. Pedrosa’s June 23 column on the Philippine Star. It begins with an interesting observation on the fabled power of the media to shape public opinion. Here’s a little teaser:
When asked about the circulation of a certain newspaper which has made hay with screaming headlines, half-truths and a deliberate intent to […]
Irony 1: The Cycle of Unemployment
Saturday, June 23rd, 2007The economists say the labor market is characterized by job surplus (or conversely undersupply of talent). Note the use of the word ‘talent’ and not the word ‘labor’. Most fresh graduates, the companies argue, are underqualified. They simply do not have the skills to perform the duties a job would require. Fair enough. But this […]
Chicken&Egg#1: The Philippine Media and Government, a Tango or a Tangle?
Friday, June 22nd, 2007One of the first things we learn to do is count. So, in reverence of an age-old skill, let’s do just that–count anything and everything from chicken and egg senarios to life’s ironies, oxymorons and paradoxes. Here’s the first.
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Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s (PGMA) plea to the media for support in the final years of her term […]