The Rainbow - A Study in Photography

Where I end is where I begin, seven colors of life I send.

Dr Abe V Rotor

A rainbow spans a continuous spectrum of colors in sequence - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet (ROYGBIV). Rainbows can be caused by other forms of water than rain, including mist, spray, and dew. Photos by Matthew Marlo R Rotor. Canon EOS 350. Bamban, Tarlac. Canon EOS 350.

Rainbow, rainbow, tell me where your end lies
        that I may meet the Leprechaun;
Rainbow, rainbow, lead me to the pot of gold
        you keep season after season. 

My child, my child, where I end is where I begin,
        seven colors of life I send;
My child, my child, I will lead you to my treasure,
        if you dream and strive to the end. ~

A Tribute to the Pioneers in Biology in the Philippines

Dr Abe V Rotor

Dr Anselmo S Cabigan (right) and author examine a rare plant specimen atop Tagaytay Ridge. Both are retired biology professors, and directors of the National Food Authority. They are disciples of the "old school" of Eduardo Quisumbing, Nemesio Mendiola, Juan Aquino, Leopoldo Karganilla, Fernando de Peralta, Deogreacias Villadolid, Jose Capinpin, Santiago Cruz et al - vanguards of  science in the Philippines.   

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Author's Note: The final draft of the human genome - the “book of life” has been completed.  In 2000 the first draft of the Human Genome Project was made public by the US-UK Human Genome Project’s head, Francis Collins, and J. Craig Venter of Celera Genomics, a private company.  They led the celebration of the most important discovery equaled only by the splitting of the atom in the last century. The breakthrough revolutionizes medicine and biology, and has deep ethical and moral implications, as the discovery could lead to the cure of killer diseases through what scientists call gene therapy, and the broadening of genetic engineering possibilities that may lead to the “creation” of life itself.

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       While the world celebrates the greatest discovery of the new millenium - the cracking of the genetic code - let us turn our thoughts to our own biologists and dedicate this article to them.  May their pioneering spirit in the development of biology in the Philippines be brought closer to our youth for them to look into the great potentials of biology as a career.

     One of the early biologists was Eduardo Quisumbing the author of Medicinal Plants of the Philippines. Although it was written in the fifties the book is still the most popular reference in pharmacology. It is used in agronomy and horticulture. If you want to know what a certain plant can cure, how it is prepared and administered to the patient, flip the pages his book. It gives the botanical description of the  plant so that it can be identifies. It is dubbed as the “bible of medicinal plants,” which anyone can use -  in the school, barangay and in the  home.

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Nemesio Mendiola (1890-1983) is the country's counterpart of the American "plant wizzard," Luther Burbank. He was responsible in breeding high yielding rice, corn, sugar cane, and a host of horticultural crops, including fancy plants. Have you seen kamote (sweet potato) varieties with yellow, violet and blue tubers? He bred the spineless kenaf from the wild thorny native variety and became the source of fiber for commercial jute sacks.

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People’s Health and Welfare

       Earlier, Leon Ma. Guerrero (1853-1935), the father of botany in the Philippines and one of the first Filipino pharmacists, formulated medicine and drugs from 174 plants in place of synthetic drugs which were not available then. When President Emilio Aguinaldo ran out of ammunition, he formulated an explosive derived from plants.  It proved to be a good substitute to gunpowder. It was later named Guerrero Powder. One of the ingredients the author discovered is the hard seed coat of cashew (Canarium luzonicum).

     “Necessity,” it is said, “is the mother of invention.” Life went through difficult times even after gaining our independence from Spain and the US and later from the Japanese. It is in these times that great minds were challenged.

     Take the case of Maria Y Orosa (1893- 1945). Her discoveries in food preservation and innovations in salting, marinating, and picklingmade home economics and food technology household terms. So simple are her techniques that they can be adopted at the grassroots.  They are also friendly to health and the environment.

     A significant contribution to the improvement of health came from  Hilarion Lara (1994-1987), an epidiomologist who advocated environmental sanitation in the control of cholera, typhoid, measles, dysentery and diphtheria.  For this he did not only earn the title of National Scientist, but his fame gained international acclaim.

Beri-beri and Allergy

     It was Manuel Ma. Guerrero (1877-1919) who succeeded in controlling infantile beri-beri.  Dr. Juan Salcedo (1904-1988) who was then chairman of the National Science Development Board came up with a special vitamin against beri-beri for all ages, a feat which became internationally famous. Thanks to Dr. Guerrero and Dr. Salcedo this scourge of millions of children all over the world can be now controlled down to the village level.  These great Filipino scientists are dubbed the “nemesis of beri-beri”.

     More discoveries that improved health were made. Alfredo Santos (1900-1979), one of the founders of the National Academy of Science discovered paheantharine from plants as a treatment of high blood pressure.  For this he earned the honor of National Scientist.

     Candido M. Africa (1895-1945) succeeded in determining the causes of heart failure and how it can be prevented. In the field of allergy, Arturo B. Rotor (1908-1993), who was also Executive Secretary of President Manuel L. Quezon, and later President Sergio Osmena, developed a technique in detecting and controlling allergy.  It was later named Rotor Syndrome, and is now a standard procedure used by medical schools and hospitals here and abroad. Dr. Rotor also wrote a column, “Confidentially Yours, Doctor,” written in simple and plain English for people to understand the doctor’s lingo. A number of orchids he discovered were named after him.

      Antonio Ejercito spearheaded malaria control, while Dr. Sixto A. Francisco (1890-1959) fought tuberculosis with a method he developed with the use of BCG vaccine. Anastacia Giron Tupas (1890-1972) upgraded the nursing profession.  She is our own Florence Nightingale, the founder of the nursing profession.  Fe del Mundo (1907-  ) institutionalized the treatment of children by putting up of hospitals for children. These hospitals are among the best-managed hospitals today. Among her inventions are an incubator for babies, and a devise in relieving jaundice. Her name is an institution in the field of pediatrics medicine.

Biology and Agriculture

     The author had the privilege to study genetics under Nemesio Mendiola (1890-1983). Dr. Mendiola is the country’s counterpart of the American “plant wizzard,” Luther Burbank. He was responsible in breeding high yielding rice, corn, sugar cane, and a host of horticultural crops, including fancy plants. Have you seen kamote (sweet potato) varieties with yellow, violet and blue tubers? If you happen to see a dwarf gumamela (Hibiscus rosasinensis) with bright long-lived flowers, it is also the work of Dr. Mendiola. He bred the spineless kenaf from the wild thorny native variety and became the source of fiber for commercial jute sacks.

     Another great mind biology is Deogracias Villadolid. He was  professor in zoology and served as critic of the author’s masteral thesis in freshwater ecology. Dr. Deogracias Villadolid, a marine and fresh water biologist, is best remembered for introducing tilapia (Tilapia monzambica and T. nilotica) into the Philippines in the fifties. The fish became adapted to local conditions that today it is the most popular fish, surpassing bangus, our national fish.

     Here is a list of other Filipino biologists and their significant contributions:

1. Julian A. Banzon (1908-1988) developed alternative fuel from coconut and sugarcane. Ironically while millions of cars run on alcogas in other countries, we have not tapped Dr. Banzon’s formula for our local cars.

2. Felix D. Maramba Sr (1898- 1990?) harnessed biogas from animal waste. His project, Maya Farms in Rizal, is the most popular model in the country for small and medium size biogas generator. Like LPG, the gas collected and processed from piggery waste is used for the kitchen and in generating electricity. It  became a world’s model for its kind.

3. Angel S. Arguelles (1888-1988?) developed fertilizers and pesticides to increase plant yield.  These alternative farm inputs can save the country of precious dollars that is otherwise spent on imported farm chemicals, which by the way, are deleterious to health and the environment. His formulations set the foundation of  organic farming.

4. Gregorio Velasquez is the father of phycology, the study of algae, which include the seaweeds. Today the culture of certain seaweeds, like Eucheuma and Gracillaria and Caulerpa,  constitute a multi-million industry.  Seaweeds are used as food and raw materials in medicine and industries. Micro-algae like Spirulina and Chlorella are among today’s growing health food.

5. Gerardo Ocfemia, the father of plant pathology in the Philippines.  He is best known for discovering the cause of cadang-cadang, a pandemic viral disease of coconut. He was responsible in the identification and control of many other plant diseases in the Philippines.

6. Dioscoro L. Umali (1922-1992) The author had the privilege of consulting Dr. Umali for his advice in the drafting of the Magna Carta for Small Farmers. A former dean of then UP College of Agriculture, he assumed one of the highest posts occupied by a Filipino in the UN as regional head of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for Asia and Pacific. His works in plant breeding, education and research won him the National Scientist award.

      These scientists also excelled in their fields: Salvador M. Africa (chemist, made glass from sugarcane bagasse), and Anacleto del Rosario (discovered natural mineral water).

     Of course, we recognize the greatest Filipino who ever lived, the hero of our race, Dr. Jose P. Rizal.  Dr. Rizal was a biologist, agriculturist and wildlife conservationist,  even while he was in exile at Dapitan. Among his discoveries is a winged tree lizard, which was later named after him, Draco rizali.

Old Masters of the Life Sciences

     The author treasures happy memories through his privileged association as a student and professor in the company of the following masters during the fifties and sixties. They constitute the so-called “old school of biology.”

·         Fernando de Peralta – Botany

·         Fortunato T. Basilio – Animal Science

·         Juan P. Torres - Agriculture

·         Santiago R. Cruz – Agriculture

·         Jose Capinpin - Agriculture

·         Gerardo Ocfemia – Plant Pathology

·         Juan Aquino – Soil Science

·         Domingo B. Paguirigan - Agriculture

·         Fortunato T. Basilio – Animal Science

·         Romeo Rejesus – Entomology

·         Ricardo P. Sevilla – Veterinary Medicine

·         Eulalio P. Baltazar - Agronomy

·         Romeo Alicbusan – Mycology

·         Francisco Fronda – Animal Science

·         Martin S. Celino – Agronomy

·         Francisco B. Claridad – Genetics

·         Romeo Rejesus – Entomology

·         Alfredo D. Dean – Entomology

·         Vito F. Del Fierro, Jr – Animal Science

·         Leopoldo T. Karganilla - Entomology

·         Emiliano Roldan – Plant Pathology

·         Rufino Gapuz – Animal Science 

·         Emil Javier – Genetics

·         Clare Baltazar - Entomology

·         Ramon Valmayor – Agriculture

     The author also expresses his admiration to these contemporary Filipino scientists whom he had the chance to study and work with in the academe, in research institutions and in the field. Together with other scientists, they belong to the “contemporary school of biology.” Among them are Reynaldo A. Tabbada (botany), Paciente Cordero (marine biology), Romualdo M. del Rosario (Botany), Ruben Umaly (Genetics), Crisanto Escaño (agriculture), Carmen Kanapi (Genetics), Sister Mamerta R. Rocero (ethnobotany), Alice Claustro (Botany), Anselmo S. Cabigan (Biology), Irineo Dogma (Microbiology) and  Lydia Joson (microbiology). The author likewise expresses recognition to scientists in the other fields of natural science, particularly in chemistry and physics.

      The author also acknowledges his former students who became practicing biologists - researchers, teachers, community workers, and the like. They are among those who constitute today’s “workforce in biology.”

New Fields of Biology- A Challenge to the youth

     These ten major biological research areas pose a challenge to the youth of today who may take interest in becoming biologists.

1. Biotechnology
2. Marine biology
3. Climatology
4. Human longevity
5. Effects of pollution
6. Endangered ecosystems and species
7. Exobiology and Space biology
8. Natural food and medicine
9. Pandemic human diseases
10. Gene therapy

      Now that the genetic code has been broken, we are embarking into new fields of science and technology heretofore unknown to man - and into the mystery of life itself, a subject that has long defied man’s knowledge. 

     The mapping of the 46 chromosomes of the human species and the 50,000 or so genes that they hold may have taken us a leap forward into knowing the key to life. But even if we shall have finally identified the specific role of each gene in relation to health, behavior and intrinsic qualities, we would still be in quandary whether this discovery will make life any better, happier and well-lived.

     As we look back, our pioneer biologists may not have cracked the gene, but definitely they have in their own quiet and humble ways brought honors to their race and profession.  Most important of all, they have improved the lives of millions of not only Filipinos but other people around the world through their genius, efforts, dedication – and selflessness.

      May this article serve as a simple expression of our respect and gratitude to these scientists and many other great Filipinos. ~

Make a little Paradise, and invite our Creator to have some rest.

Dr Abe V Rotor 
Also visit
[avrotor.blogspot.com]
[Living with Nature] 
[naturalism - the eighth sense]

                                                         Virac, Catanduanes

Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Gourmet Farm, Silang, Cavite

Ateneo de Manila University, QC

Technohub, Diliman QC

 Lantern exhibits, Ateneo de Manila Univcrsity, QC

 St Augustine church, Tagudin, Ilocos Sur

University of Santo Tomas, Fountain of Knowledge

"Please come, and have some rest."

Dream no more, I said to myself, of Paradise Regained -

It is here, in the very core of being next to the heart

and soul, this Phrygian landscape with touch of vane,

the essence of contrition and amendment for my part.

For nothing is unforgivable, that Sin inherited by us

from our ancestors - we're doomed, deprived of heaven

on earth. No! the gifts of the Creator have been passed

onward, and here I created a piece of that lost Eden.

Here I see God beyond the street, and above my head,

His harmonious creation over land, across the sea,

I am part of the cycle of life everyday, even in bed,

as seasons come and go, for here I feel always free.

When lakes and rivers dry, and the sky no longer blue;

as cities grow, land fills with waste, air no longer fresh;

I take time out to make a li'l Eden though of simple view,

And invite my Creator to come and find a little rest." ~

The Forest is on Fire!

The Forest is on Fire! 
Dr Abe V Rotor

Forest on Fire, painting in acrylic, by AV Rotor 2015 

Summer is the time of forest fire when the trees lose their leaves piling up into thick and dry litter that spontaneously burns, made more vulnerable by global warming.

Everything goes to flame - branches, twigs, annuals plants, epiphytes, lianas, shrubs and bushes; even compost and organic matter in the soil are not spared.

Heat builds into inferno, the forest becomes a ball of fire, burning both the living and the dead, smoke bellowing far and wide, releasing gases and carbon into the air.

Birds swoop in gay and abandon on fleeing insects, daring to go at the source of fire, and tracking those that escape, even far out into the sky or over horizon.

Whole trees fall, branches crack, screeches and cries of the dying are heard, residents of the forest scamper, so with the transients, as the fire moves in and spreads,

Call it a natural process, a cycle of life and death of eliminating the unfit and saving the fittest; call it regeneration that renews the forest's composition and structure.

Now, the forest, like any ecosystem, can no longer follow the path of dynamic change, a phenomenon called homeostasis to adjust to the conditions of the environment. 

Quite often the environment is influenced by the activities of man more than by nature alone, and homeostasis may fail to preserve the ecosystem.

The ecosystem declines and ultimately breaks up; the food web is broken, the flow of energy is cut, and the life cycles of living things come to a stop.

It is dreary and sad to see a forest in skeleton, nature gone to waste, beauty lost in 

ignorance and lust, the future destroyed -   the forest is forever gone.  ~

Musical Summer for Kids - and Grownups, too

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

It's the uke many children love to start with. 

Piano recital in the home with relatives and guests

The violin, the soulful and classical instrument, perhaps the most admired, too.

It's a potpourri of notes this trio play with the violin and the uke.


Guitar and Ukulele offer the young enthusiast a choice.

Summer is the shortest season for kids; they don't know when it starts and ends, and in between - there is never a dull moment, like marching too fast to go along, and too soon to reach the destination;

Summer is musical with the gusts of wind tamed into breeze by the trees, hissing, whispering, shaking the old ones to the ground into a pile of litter, inviting passersby to stop and rest in the tree shade;

Summer is musical with peals of thunder like distant drums and gongs, getting nearer and nearer each time, lighting flashing, and soon the sun is blocked, overcast reigns in a strange music of gloom;

Summer musical with children flying kites in lilting joy, kites soaring in crescendo and cantabile, string taut in notes and tunes, audible by the touch of the hand, receiving messages from up high;

Summer musical with kids learning to play the violin, the soulful instrument of all time - string, wind, percussion - and blending with any, or all of them, under the baton of a seasoned maestro;

Summer musical with kids abandoning for the time being the computer, the mall and loafing, learning the fundamentals of good music, and differentiating it from the postmodern noise-music version;

Summer musical with kids barely reaching the keyboard, hard at carrying and beating the drum, short of breath to reach the high notes, too thin a voice for modulation, yet wish they were on stage;

Summer musical is replaying classical musical movies like The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Oliver, Noli the Musical, Les Miserables, The King and I, Mary Poppins, this time with keener perception and interest;

Summer musical is attending workshops, getting tutor lessons, qualifying for membership in a band or orchestra, performing live before select audiences, at the grassroots and in rural communities;

Summer musical is meditation with the sound of nature drowned in the city jungle, music that calms the heart from too much work and study, to appreciate the value of beauty and freedom, shared and enjoyed by all. ~   

Transforms - Educational Tools, and Decors, too

Reviving the conventional tools of teaching and learning through visual aids. A break from monotonous lecture, and the "short-cut" method with the computer.

Museum of Natural History, UPLB 

Mt Makiling, Laguna 

Dr Abe V Rotor

 Sowbug, a relative of the insect - a terrestrial crustacean

 Replica of whale attracts teachers on field trip.  On the left is a painting of the blue whale

 Giant outline of a damsel fly and a butterfly

 Scorpion on the wall; wooden exoskeleton of insect.

 Modern sculptural representation of an insect's exoskeleton 

Fairy tale mushroom; anatomy of a tree

A representation of a "new" species of  lizard.

Applied Multiple Intelligence: Here is a simple self evaluation.

The Key to Greatness of Jose Rizal, Galilee Galileo, Mother Teresa, Carl Jung, Albert Schweitzer, Loius Pasteur, Alexander Fleming, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Christian Barnard et al 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog 
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio, 
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

The most exciting stories in science involve the sudden spark when mundane observation meets sudden inspiration. Such is the case of the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming, Galileo watching the swing of a lamp in the Cathedral of Pisa and deduced from it the law of the pendulum, and Sir Isaac Newton watching the fall of a apple and formulating the laws of gravity. It is as humorous as the sudden realization by Archimedes of the law of buoyancy.

But stories of this sort are not coincidental or incidental; they are deliberate efforts of testing a theory and looking for evidences and application. Such is the story of Louis Pasteur whose discoveries in microbiology led to a new field of medicine which is immunization, Christian Barnard revolutionizing surgery when he conducted the world’s first heart transplant. Such stories continue to amaze us. The Human Genome Project has opened before us a new horizon in medicine heretofore unknown - gene therapy.
Juan Luna  Here are four celebrated examples of multiple intelligence in action.


1. Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the great English explorer and the first white man to penetrate the heart of Africa and establish the first hospital for the natives there, was very effective in his mission not only because he was a good physician, but he was gifted with other talents. He was a minister, a musician, a naturalist and a philanthropist. Although he was criticized by his detractors for his philosophy on “reverence for life,” his outdated medical practices, and racial attitude, he was admired by mankind, and his legacy of dedication to others endures. The world will always have the memory of a giant who tried in his singular way to love as Jesus loved, oddly but honestly lived his beloved song: The deed is everything; the glory naught.

2. Carl Gustav Jung was a master of the abstruse. His explorations took him through yoga, alchemy, fairy tales, tribal rites of the Pueblo Indians, Hindu mandalas, extrasensory perception, prehistoric cave drawings – and an estimated 100,000 dreams. But when Dr. Jung was accused of having left medicine for mysticism, he replied that psychiatry must reflect all of man’s experiences, from the most intensely practical to the most tenuously mystical. If the details of his work were sometimes foggy, his overall purpose was clear: to help man live at peace with his unconscious.

3. Mother Teresa required poverty, chastity and obedience but also a fourth vow, service to the poorest of the poor. More than 3000 sisters of the missionaries of Charity joined her to pursue the religious path, aided by brothers in a separate men’s order and a host of lay 

co-workers. Together Sister Teresa and her followers operate a network of some 350 missions, spread across scores of nations, that administer hospices, food centers, clinics, orphanages, leprosariums and refuges for the insane, retarded and aged. What drove Mother Teresa into this deep dedication? She received a “call within a call” – a special vocation in which she felt God directing her to the slums. Such call is reminiscent of the voice that commanded Joan of Arc to lead the French army against the English. She did not live to see the liberation of her native land.

4. Dr Jose Rizal, our national hero, is perhaps the epitome of multiple intelligence among his people and the Malay race. He prodigiously possessed the eight realms and made use of them exceptionally fruitful within his short life. The ultimate expression of such gift that led him to greatness was inspired by a moth that circled a lamp on his study table - then singed itself suddenly into the flame. It was to become the symbol of his martyrdom.


5. Galileo Galilei (Italian pronunciation: 15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), often known mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian physicist,mathematician, engineer, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the scientific revolution during the Renaissance. His achievements include improvements to the telescope and consequent astronomical observations and support for Copernicanism. Galileo has been called the "father of modern observational astronomy", the "father of modern physics", the "father of science", and "the father of modern science".

His contributions to observational astronomy include the telescopic confirmation of the phases of Venus, the discovery of the four largest satellites of Jupiter (named the Galilean moons in his honour), and the observation and analysis of sunspots. Galileo also worked in applied science and technology, inventing an improved military compass and other instruments. (Wikipedia)

Multiple Intelligence
(The 8 Realms of Intelligence)

1. Interpersonal (human relations) - Sometimes this is referred to as social intelligence. Leaders excel in this field. “They exude natural warmth, they wear disarming smile,” to quote an expert on human relations. Name your favorite characters. I choose Nelson Mandela, Henry Kissinger and our own, the late Carlos P. Romulo.

2. Intrapersonal (inner vision self-reflection and meditation) – Masters in this realm are priests, nuns, poets, yogis. St. Francis of Assisi is a genius in this domain. Didn’t Beethoven compose music with his inner ear and Helen Keller “see” from an inner vision?

3. Kinesthetics (athletics, sports, body language, dance, gymnastics) - Michael Jordan and Roger Federer excel in their respective sports. Now think of your idol in the sports world, or in the art of dance. Lisa Macuja Elizalde is still the country’s top ballet dancer.

4. Languages or linguistics - There are people who are regarded walking encyclopedia and dictionary. The gift of tongue in the true sense is in being multilingual like our very own Dr. Jose Rizal. How fast can you learn the dialect or language of a place?

5. Logic (dialectics, Mathematics) - Marxism is based on dialectics which is a tool in studying and learning social sciences like philosophy. Likewise, this realm includes the intelligence of numbers – mathematics, geometry, accounting, actuarial science, etc. This is the key to many IQ tests. Einstein, Newton, Socrates, Aristotle, Hawkings are popular figures who represent this realm.

6. Music (auditory art) – Frederick Chopin, Nicanor Abelardo, Ryan Cayabyab, Lea Salonga – name your favorite. Johann Sebastian Bach is the genius of all composers. Tchaikovsky is the master of ballet music. Frederick Handel's Messiah, Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Brahms' Lullaby remain unequaled to this day. I like listening Pangkat Kawayan play Philippine music. I cannot miss hearing the Madrigal singers, the Vienna Boys, and the UST Choral Ensemble.

7. Spatial intelligence (drawing, and painting, sculpture, architecture, photography) - The greatest contemporary artist, Pablo Picasso, was robbed in his studio. Hog-tied, he carefully studied the robber, the way an artist studies his model. After the incident he sketched the face of the robber and gave it to the police. The police made a hundred arrests without succeeding in pinpointing the culprit. The sculptor Rodin wanted his subject to look as if it were melting, like clay softened by rain. What could be a better expression of poverty for his masterpiece, The Burghers of Calais?

8. Naturalism (Green Thumb, relationship with the Natural World) - There are people who are said to have a “green thumb”. Their gardens are beautiful even with little care. There are those who can predict weather, fishermen who know when a fish bites, farmers who pick the reddest watermelon, fullest macapuno nuts, just by feel and sound. Good doctors, I am sure are not only good because of high scholastic records, but have the green thumb as well.

Here is a simple exercise to find out how you fare with Multiple Intelligence. With a piece or paper,  list down the eight realms on the left column. Through self-analysis score each realm using the Likert Scale of 1 to 5, where five is very good (VG), and 1 is very poor (VP); 2 is poor (P), 3 is fair (F) and 4 is good (G). Work on this exercise individually and quietly. It usually takes 10 to 20 minutes.

What is your top three realms? Can you see their inter relationships? Relate them with your strength. On the other hand, in what ways can you improve on the other realms with lower rating? Now relate your score with your present work, your family, and community.

Yes, you can be a Schweitzer, Jung, Mother Teresa, Fleming, Darwin, Rizal, Magsaysay, et al in your own right. And, remember there are early and late bloomers. ~