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Showing posts from March, 2014

#Philippines needs to take serious steps to make a mark in the world #food map

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'Put your food where your mouth is' Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, traditional Filipino cuisine has a limited appeal to many international travellers ( a review of TripAdvisor/LonelyPlanet etc would confirm that) ? and the country is generally not a great inspiration to chefs, unlike Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, and obviously Japanese, but I agree the issue is not to have a meaningless pissing contest, but to apply the principle ? 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating', and to develop the industry as appropriate, highlight excellence where it exists, take advantage of opportunities, create dishes which excite, and strive to improve at all levels, as many other countries have done over recent years to great effect/benefit. The question is whether the Philippines has the will to improve and adapt, particularly in the mid price range, which tends to be where most tourists focus, or whether Filipinos are too blinkered to do anything about it, too 'proud...

Various #change and #reform movements have failed in the #Philippines.. What now?

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If it’s systematic cleansing of rot that’s needed, what’s your opinion of the Marxist argument for a two-pronged attack: One in parliament and one armed wing, both under the communist party? (The one in the Philippines though is a joke. It lost its ideals when it became power for the sake of power) From the soclialist point of view, we are on the verge of another revolution. Weber says that once the legitimacy of the state is questioned due to its inability to deliver its promises to the people who appoint it, the people have the power to take it down. A good example was the first EDSA. But what our parents didn’t realize in EDSA was that instead of cleaning out the system, we put the problem back in: the Oligarchy. And THEY made sure that they wouldn’t be so easily displaced in the future by writing the constitution for us. What now? The anarchist’s answers through the Occupy movements and Million People March don’t provide answer...

#Filipino dude in #Canada always being asked by #Pinoys how many white chicks he's slept with

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I am a Filipino born Canadian who moved here (in Canada) around my teen years. I have memories of the ‘motherland’, but I feel I could very well be one of those generation 1.5 Canadian Immigrants – well assimilated and owing nothing to the ‘motherland’. However, I do love the Philippines, my Filipino heritage, and of course, I still have childhood friends and family over there. …so I am always at odds with the dysfunctions of Philippine society vs. my desire to see it improve and rise above such dysfunctions. That said, this reply of yours is a very neat way of summarizing what I was trying to get at in two posts about my travel memoirs in the Philippines. I guess I should practice brevity more! (then again, mine is a travel memoir… so length is never an issue, while detail and specific experiences are always the target) In this post I had a run in with a lady who scoffed at a common courtesy often practiced here in Canada/North ...

The #Philippines' #reform initiative should be designed around 6 key cultural change drivers

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There are at least 6 drivers/key areas for cultural change, and each should have their own primary focus/individual initiatives, but work in concert to reinforce each other, and to agreed core values. Education/parenting Entertainment/media Environment/arts Employment/training Entrepreneurship/business External/partnerships There is always a more prescriptive approach at the outset of any cultural change/social re-engineering programme, but that gives way over time to greater freedoms as solid foundations are established, institutional change occurs, and genuine progress is made. Responsibility slowly transfers from a centralised propaganda based state to an informed, opinionated, and empowered society/individual, where democracy rather than elitism flourishes, and where government serve the people, rather than being subservient to the ‘criminal elite’ Eventually initial top down strategies are overtaken by bottom up momentum. A bouncing ball effect. ...

2 thing rise to the top - cream and scum: Which best describes #Philippine govt officials?

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Culture and its associated values are major factors in determining whether the cream or the scum (metaphorically and in reality), dominate in politics and society, and which/who become the ‘role-models’. Bad apples exist in any society, but with the right values, better mechanisms are created to identify and dispose of such malignants and retrobates. The problem is that if it is the scum, then like the bacteria, over time it infects everything else, and only radical disinfectant will change the situation. “You can think of this self-perpetuating cycle, where promotion of self-interest increases status in society, which further increases willingness to behave unethically. It may help explain the runaway rise in inequality in the last 50 years.” - Piff, professor of sociology The cultural/personal values which I consider are largely absent in the Philippines, in the population as a whole, and therefore which, through their absence, act as an enabler for...

Cultural norms are the embedded reactions to historic stupidity

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Change management is well understood in a corporate environment – both in terms of its importance to overall performance, and the mechanics/tools to change/adapt cultural values as organisational needs dictate. Business psychology now also starts to become an allied specialism aimed at ensuring people and processes function in harmony, not conflict. Systems invariably fail not just from design, or planning, but because of the human interface, hence total systems methodology, and total quality management. Social re-engineering at a national level is less mature and has added complexities in balancing multiple interests and sub-cultures, and a far longer time-frame in achieving any significant results, but nevertheless it is a conscious strategic goal in many countries, and individual initiatives/policies form part of a holistic approach where the objectives are clear and the benefits quantifiable. As any business consultant or change agent knows, culture lies at the root ...

I'm starting to get the feeling some people don't like #GetRealPhilippines... @ceso

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#Filipinos look like idiots whenever they rabidly come to the defense of their 'pride'

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We need to learn to just laugh it off. Our sense of humor is outdated. America gets a lot of crap from everyone else in the world, but they just laugh it off, ignore it, or even acknowledge it as true because they're so powerful, they're guilty of being powerful. Heck even Mexicans I know laugh at the teasing thrown their way, it's just a fun thing. On the other hand, we feel the need to defend ourselves from even the most pathetic attempts of an attack - showing how feeble we are in the world stage. Every time someone attacks Filipino culture, they're having so much fun at it because they get death threats that never happen, non-sequitors, and piggybacking on the success of a certain Filipino (ie Pacquiao) - but never a real laugh back (only condescending "laughs" that show that they are affected by the attack). In other words, people just gotta chill. You're making yourself look like an idiot getting pissed at every little thing that offends ...

Psychoanalysing the #Filipino character

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To explore the Filipino mind is a journey on the dark side which would have kept freud busy and amused. The Filipino psyche predominantly revolves around a range of defence mechanisms developed as a means of coping with day to day struggles, low self-esteem, and external criticism. The end result is a psyche which doesn’t want to hear painful truths, and will only believe what it wants to hear, however absurd/illogical. A fantasy world of achievement compensating for the stark reality of failure, and like a walter mitty character, Filipinos become legends in their own mind splitting reality and fantasy to such a point the two become fused and/or confused. In such a world guilt and shame have been banished, for they would burst the balloons of pride and ego which have been lifted so high and remain the symbols of hope in a barren life It overcompensates through hubristic pride, narcissism, a collective mentality, a strong need to belong and to associate with anything/on...

#Squatters embody all the reasons the #Philippines consistently fails to prosper

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Have you ever gone inside a squatter colony ? I have ! It is humanity living in a sewer, above, along, beside, below, living in hovels built from disgarded fragments of rotted coco lumber, broken furniture, torn filthy tarps, rusted nails, low cellings, and often stacked 3 to 4 floors high. Dirt floors, repressive heat, sickness, TB, rotted teeth, dysentery, unwanted pregnancy, criminality, open fires, illegal electrical hookups, no fire route access or escape plan, none of the occupants ever paying taxes. Sweaty Babies with snotty noses, children covered in dirt, dressed in rags, everyone peeing almost anywhere, crapping in plastic bags, one tap for 30 or more families. People sleeping on mats, lined up often like sardines, with the rats, cockroaches, unimaginable strenches wafting from every direction. Walkways 18 inches wide, the sounds of voices, crying, wailing, laughing, screaming, as if you just woke up liviing inside a Fellini movie complete with dwarfs and disfigured would w...

Whoever invented some of there #Filipino dishes must've been awful hungry..

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While I enjoy adobo and Giniling and Apritada, I steer away from many Filipino food favourites. As a Westerner, I find the overall ‘appearance’ unusually unappetizing. Filipino dishes in food courts for example is often grey, dark, greasy, and worrying to look at. Dishes made from pig blood and the use of every part of every creature make attacking a Filipino buffet somewhat of a nail biting experience. Chinese dishes, and Thai food by comparison, is bright, fresh and crisp looking. Vibrant colors, aromas, fresh peeled cucumber, carrot, spring onion accents to the side of bright delicious looking stir fry arrangements make your mouth water hence the overall popularity worldwide of Thai food. The flavors are always marvelous with the Thai and Chinese dishes because you know what you are eating. Internationally, Filipino restaurants are generally only ever frequented by Filipinos. The party standards……roast lechon, greasy fried rice, pancit, cold lumpia, ch...

#Foodie tourists to the #Philippines need to be at the right place to find the best #Filipino #cuisine

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Filipino dishes basically revolve around few ingredients, garlic, onion, ginger, salt, pepper, fish sauce, meat whether chicken, beef or pork, soy sauce, and vinegar. With these plain ingredients you can make a variety of dishes. Just add another ingredients and it becomes a whole different dish. It basically start with sauteing garlic, onion, then adding the meat “Sangkutsa”. Then add soy sauce of fish sauce to taste and adding a touch of tart flavor, you have “adobo”. After that add tomato sauce, bell pepper, and simmer in coconut milk, and it becomes “Caldereta” Surprisingly, Filipino ingenuity is seen not only in his work but also in his food. With simple ingredients, we can create distinct flavors. With our economy nowadays, with higher cost of ingredients, Filipinos adapt to this. We have to sacrifice creating a satisfying meal, with lesser cost, we are only thinking to satisfy our hunger not our taste, as evidenced by food in the “k...

#Filipino #cuisine needs to develop a dedicated foreign fan base who delight in it in order for it to go #global

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Filipinos limit themselves to the home when it comes to making their food. It’s all fine and dandy when you’re just inviting friends and family, but word of mouth can only go so far. One of the fundamentals of establishing ethnic cuisine overseas is to develop a dedicated foreigner fanbase who delight in the food. When this group grows, other people would want to check to see what all the buzz is about. Modify the dishes to suit the country of origin’s palate is a plus. Don’t serve them unorthodox foods right off the bat until they’re ready to venture into it. Most of all, create an atmosphere that’s aesthetically pleasing. I’ve been to Filipino restaurants in other countries and the best way I can describe most of them is they have as much class as a high school cafeteria. Forgot to add, but keep the establishment clean and sanitary at all times. That should be a given. All these require a bit of advertisement, business sense and luck. ...

Dumb #Philippine citizenry good for government goals | #AmpawRepublic

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To stay in power or remain in position, our AMPAW Leaders in our government.. “...don’t want a population capable of critical thinking. They want obedient workers, people smart enough to run machines and dumb enough to passively accept their situation”. – George Carlin Philippines main Export commodity are OFW (modern day form of slavery). It is the reason why RH Bill will never be implemented to maintain a continuous supply of cheap/quality labor and organ donor to the world. Source: http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2014/03/president-noynoy-aquinos-mouth-is-his-own-worst-enemy/comment-page-1/#comment-228716

#Filipino #cuisine: Culture of laziness in the #kitchen consistently results in mediocre #food

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Filipino food regrettably ranks as one of the worst in the world - street food or otherwise. If you say to someone - 'how about Filipino tonight' - it does not conjure up going out to eat! The reason has little to do with poverty. In so many countries I visit it was the poverty which drove the initial creativity to maximise variety and flavor from very basic choices and to experiment with ingredients. It seems more to do with a generic culture of laziness and lack of creativity which extends to the kitchen. It is also that few learn to cook or take on board a passion for food, and unlike the curiosity of foreigners, Filipinos do not explore a wide range of cuisines but stick to what they know and suffer withdrawal symptoms if no rice. Food is predominantly basic rice 3 times a day (good luck with the diabetes), and anything thrown in oil and overcooked (good luck with heart disease) creating one brown mess on the plate (a forerunner of things to come!) and often serve...

#PNoy shuns #mediocrity: a challenging position in THE #AmpawRepublic

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Above photo of the Pasig River Ferry operated by the MMDA is one of many pwede-na-yan solutions the government of President BS Aquino has implemented. And yet, here is BS Aquino preaching what he does not practice... “ 'Let us reinforce the culture of quality and competence that has taken root in the Philippines. If we continue working together—whichever sector we may be in—we can ingrain a culture that shuns mediocrity, and consistently pursues excellence,' Aquino said during the 16th Philippine Quality Award Conferment Ceremonies at the Palace." Source of above snippet: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/353396/news/nation/pnoy-calls-for-end-to-mediocrity-in-govt-private-sector

Future of the #Philippines is in #DeepShit thanks to politics | #AmpawRepublic

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A little boy goes to his Dad and asks, "What is politics?" Dad says, "Well, son, let me try to explain it this way: I'm the breadwinner of the family, so let's call me Capitalism. Your Mom, she's the administrator of the money, so we'll call her the Government. We're here to take care of your needs, so we'll call you the People. The nanny, we'll consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we'll call him the Future. Now, think about that and see if that makes sense. So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what Dad has said. Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has soiled his diaper, so the little boy goes to his parents' room and finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed...

#PMA #HonorCode shapes a culture of trust and promotes values that never get outdated

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Friends, let us not bash the Honor Code that they have at the Academy, it is theirs alone and it has been there since the creation of the Academy. The Honor Code is not something evil, it is there to instill and inculcate integrity in the cadets. Honesty, honor, integrity can never have a gray area. It is either you lied or not, stolen or not, cheated or not and tolerated or not, nothing in between. It does not promote dysfunction because it shapes a culture of trust. It is not out of times because honesty/honor/integrity can never be outdated, it should linger on as a good value. It is not selective because it is applied to all cadets regardless of class, gender, age, intellect and social standing. You can even report your own classmates or seniors without fear of reprisal. Heck, they say you can even report yourself for violating the Honor Code. There may be a few alumni who strayed along the way. But let us not generalize all the academy alumni, NOT ALL of them are rotten ...

#PNoy blames all #corruption and #porkbarrel thievery under his watch on #Arroyo

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And now our much awaited “blame it on GMA” has just happened... “Press Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. dismissed the plunder complaint filed against President Aquino Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala along with alleged pork barrel scam brains Janet Lim Napoles and other charges involving the unliquidated funds in Nabcor and the calamity funds of Social Work Secretary Dinky Soliman, saying that the anomalies were not the fault of the current administration but the one that preceded it.” http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/dinky-cleared-gma-blamed-on-gov-t-funds-misuse-raps He is not only an awful manager, he is also a liar (contrary to what Osmena is saying that the BS Aquino is an honest man), an utter hypocrite, and also a selfish bastard. Source: http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2014/03/senator-sergio-osmena-is-right-pnoy-is-an-awful-manager-but-we-all-already-knew-that/comment-page-1/#comment-227800

#Philippine mindset and economy geared towards serving Western society

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I do agree [..] that there is a reputation for prostitution in not just the Philippines, but also south east Asia in general. I don’t pass any judgement on the girls that do it because as others have pointed out, they can earn much more money from this line of work compared to working in a call center or any other regular office job. These girls may also have children or families that depend on their support for medical reasons or simply day-to-day living expenses, so I can completely understand why someone might want to do it. I also feel that there is a mindset in the Philippines to serve the west, not just in prostitution but also in terms of BPO and tourism. The country’s whole economy and main sources of finance are geared towards supporting foreigners, and in many ways (as previously mentioned) the prostitutes are actually helping the overall economy as it attracts more overseas visitors to the area. I don’t however agree with the statement that this ...

Senator Miriam Santiago: not an original thinker

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Miriam Santiago is undoubtedly bright, knowledgeable, and hard working, with a good team of people, but her pomposity and need for attention and approval has become her achilles heel, as she lectures, rather than communicates, concentrates on university students rather than a wider,( more difficult), audience, and raises issues but rarely follow through to completion – except for her personal vendetta against enrile, or where it provides for personal visibility. She also tends to jump on obvious bandwagons rather than being the originator/instigator. Like many in the legal profession ( a world governed by precedents and the judgements of others) Miriam Santiago, by any stretch of the imagination is not an original thinker, and no doubt more suited as a typical judge than a conviction politician, and talking to admiring teenagers, rather than seasoned professionals. And Miriam Santiago is not an Oxford alumna as she likes to say! (A 4 week summer school does not count, ...

Why 'examples' of family #honor do not prove Filipinos are an honorable people @jabjimenez

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Noted social media personality and COMELEC spokesman James Jimenez cited the following examples of "Filipino honor"... (1) Rido? That's when generations of muslim filipinos actually sacrifice much - even lives - to protect family honor. Also honor driven. (2) Fiesta syndrome? That's when filipinos go into debt to fulfill a social obligation to protect family honor. Perverse? Yes. But honor driven. (3) True story: artist raises 500K in cash for a charity. refuses to touch it for personal gain and scrambles to make 3k for his family. Honor. The question, however is whether these "examples" are representative of the overall character of Philippine society. Even more important, we will find that the last two are family- and ethnic/faith-centric. Honour to one's family is easy -- because the motivation to be so is practically ingrained in our DNA as vessels for propagating our genetic code. The bigger challenge is finding evidence of honour that...

#Philippine politicians given a #vagina rating!

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Loren legarda – environmentally friendly and well protected, but high maintenance. Grace poe – the mark of marcos? Pia cayetano – active, enjoys threesomes Kris aquino – like a hotel, with lots of short stay visitors, and a tradesman’s entrance Miriam santiago – the vagina monologue De lima – self-serving Kim henares – charges a bedroom tax Pnoy aquino – i would prefer to play with a game boy “I was worried about my own vagina. It needed a context of other vaginas– a community, a culture of vaginas. There’s so much darkness and secrecy surrounding them– like the Bermunda Triangle.g.” (Unless you have a brazilian) - Eve Ensler Source: http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2014/03/according-to-senator-miriam-santiago-the-next-philippine-president-should-have-a-vagina/comment-page-1/#comment-224707

Institutionalised #tax fraud in the #Philippines, a country pretending to be poor!

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Nobody ever wants to pay tax, but especially when tax revenues are simply stolen by politicians ( 30% is the conservative estimate of lost tax revenue to corruption in the philippines, and a further 30%+ potential revenue is the opportunity loss from those who pay no tax in the first place), so Kim Henares may seek favourable publicity by chasing a few small fish/political adversaries, and distasteful/questionable adverts, but she is doing little to fundamentally change the culture, or the system itself, and it is akin to shooting baby alligators, but doing nothing to actually drain the swamp itself. The issue in the Philippines, like almost everything else, boils down to culture, corruption, and incompetence. The bottom line – people will only pay taxes, albeit reluctantly, when they see some practical benefits/investment/improvements in services, and trust their government to manage finances judiciously, not fill up their personal offshore bank accounts, and when there i...

#Philippine #tax regime ensures middle class subsidises poor and rich

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BIR Commissioner Kim Henares often justifies the efforts of her agency as being essential for the delivery of social and economic services, school buildings, farm-to-market roads, etc. Ostensibly, because the Philippines follows the progressive system of taxation, the BIR only wants to ensure that EVERYONE pays their ‘fair share’ — the wealthy is supposed to be taxed more than the less wealthy. What reality shows us is that our system of taxation PUNISHES the middle class who are taxed at rates closer to the wealthy. How is it ‘fair’ when one segment of society is made to shoulder the responsibility not just for the very poor, BUT ALSO the very rich? Look around you. EVERYTHING IN THE PHILIPPINES IS TAXED! There is VAT imposed on practically anything you purchase. The VAT on homeowners’ association dues means that you are taxed for simply taking up residence in the country. What this all comes down to is that the prices of all goods and servic...

#Filipinos are ill-mannered condo #neighbours

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I am a foreigner and live in a condo unit. You know what? There are certain Filipino residents here that can’t even push their garbage down a trash shute completely. How hard is it to give one foot/pound of force so it will go down all the way? They just leave it. They sweep their hair, and dust out of the unit expecting somebody to clean it up instead of walking it to the garbage. They don’t even hold the elevator for you and see you are coming. If you take one extra second of their precious day, it is too much. I can go on, but that is enough. Source: http://getrealphilippines.com/blog/2011/07/what-metro-manila-billboards-tell-us-about-the-filipino-character/comment-page-1/#comment-223024

Key aspects of the #Bangsamoro Framework Agreement #unconstitutional

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All the portions of the MILF Bangsamoro agreement are patently unconstitutional. To wit: 1. The sub-state violates the constitutional integrity of our national territories in Mindanao. It is the same MOA-AD which was already declared as unconstitutional. This sub-state contains all the elements of a state including recognition. Which means that the MILF criminal, bandit, terrorist group can and will secede from the Republic of the Philippines. Our maritime territories are being violated as the sub-state even claims parts of the Sulu Sea, Moro Gulf and Yllana Bay which also violates the UNCLOS. They also claim parts of our airspace, freshwater resources and underground resources. 2. The MILF is still an outlaw criminal, bandit, terrorist group operating outside of the law. They are allied with the NPA, Jemaah Islamiya, Abu Sayaff Group and the Al Quaeda in Asia. The BIFF and the MILF have bonds of blood relations and friendships. Jihadist Muslims aid each other in Jihad war. War...

Average #Filipino #IQ lower than that of #Cambodia and #Indonesia! #intelligence

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It is not unexpected that the philippines has a lowly national IQ average of 86 ( america had an average of 80 in 1932), - , and like the US is dragged down by the majority of anti-intellects who contribute little but reap the benefits of the few, but the real concern is that in the philippines it is not increasing, and certainly not compared to its ASEAN neighbours. Singapore - 108 S. Korea - 106 (US - 98) Cambodia - 91 Thailand - 91 Indonesia - 87 Philippines - 86 More disconcerting is that there is no coherent education strategy to improve IQ through its component parts - creative thinking, problem solving, logic etc., and as most educational psychologists will state, such skills must be embedded/learnt from the earliest possible age. And of course it is not only education, but also nutrition, parental upbringing, cultural/media influences, role-models etc which play their part. The lack of investment in/importance on human intellect is reflected in a cultu...