SEARCH: GOOGLE, GADGETS, GRADUATE WORK, GOVERNMENT, GOD (SUPER 5G)

My parents were both elementary school teachers; my father became a District Supervisor and my mother became a school Principal. They were both very proud of their roles in providing the young the initial, fundamental, or elementary skills necessary to obtain an education either from others or by themselves.

Indeed, learning the skills of Reading, ‘Riting, and ‘Rithmetic are the necessary tools to obtain data, information, knowledge, and wisdom. Master the 3 Rs and nothing can stop you from obtaining as much content be they general or specialized at any level. With patience, industry, time and a conscientious effort, the sky is the limit for those who desire knowledge and wisdom.

My barber and I share and love to quote this Ilocano proverb: “Awan kas iti sursuro a sanikua, ta dayta awan makatakaw kenka.” It is translated in English as: “Knowledge is the wealth that cannot be stolen from you.”

Aristotle said, “All men by nature desire to know” while Josh Billings declared, “Knowledge is like money, the more he gets, the more he craves.”

The belief that education is the best inheritance that parents could bequeath to their children also reaffirms the similar belief that knowledge is power and the best defense against the onslaught of oppressive tyrants.

A thirst and hunger for knowledge is as much a thirst and hunger for drink, food, wealth and even glory. We go to school to satisfy such yearning.

GOVERNMENT and GRADUATE WORK

When I first came to Washington, D.C. as a young student, I always thought that it was the best place to study, graduate and work. This was before the popularity of the internet, the search engines and the digital gadgets. Searching for data, information, intelligence and knowledge for any field of discipline and for any geographic location in the United States, in the world and even in the universe, the place to be was in the Washington, D.C. area. The Library of Congress has almost all the books, newspapers, magazines and other publications published in the world. The National Archives has historical files and documents about any important event in the U.S. and world history. Both the State and Commerce departments have country desks dealing with each country where tremendous data and information about such country are stored and made accessible and available to research students and / or to the public. Add the declassified documents and files at the Central Intelligence Agency, and anyone curious, thirsty and hungry for knowledge would have an almost unlimited source.

None of the arguments in favor of Yale, Harvard, and Stanford even with their large endowments could convince me that the resources of the said universities could match the institutions, resources and the convenience that a university such as American University, George Washington U and/or Georgetown U which are located in D.C. offer. The best of experts in all fields working for the U.S. Federal Government are available for consultation and sometimes for part-time teaching. Internships and eventual employment would be easier to find.

Then came what we now call the digital age which brought first the computers, then the internet which connects everyone worldwide, then electronic organizers, eBook readers and mobile devices. Web sites, eBooks, eLibraries, and multimedia contents such as video and audio files have been made available in the web. Fortunately, my favorite search engine named Google also came into play.

The truth is, the Net and Google changed my outlook. The contents which were originally hard copies and made available only physically, are now made available digitally and in the internet. Also, my daughter, Traci Maynigo went to Yale University, wrote her first book with a funding grant while at Yale and got her first job as an Editor with the help of a Yale alumna. You cannot underestimate the value of networking between and among Yale Alumnae. Only recently, an updated version of her Yale book, “A Girl’s Guide to College: Making the Most of the Best Four Years of Your Life”, was the No. 1 Best Selling Book for the young adult at Amazon.com.

GOOGLE

Now, over 67% of internet users utilize Google. If you are searching for data and information, Google proves to be a good assistant. Bing/Yahoo search engines are also quite effective so nobody is stopped from using them too. Of course, if you want your contents available to be searched by most of the internet users, plan it so that they would be so. I chose my blogs (benmaynigo.blogspot.com) to be published by Google’s blogspot for that purpose. Because about half of the issues I discuss are about the Philippines, I also selected Asian Journal to publish my articles because the paper is distributed in Southern California where most of the Filipinos in the United States are. Its digital edition is also online. My Facebook friends and their friends if they repost, and my Twitter followers also have access to the same articles.

Through Google, you will find that the Philippines is known for being the Text Capital, Facebook Capital and Twitter Capital of the world. Just recently, the country has also become the Call Center Capital of the world. Yet, only about 29% of the total population has internet access.  I will let you figure out why.

GADGETS

I attended the first conferences that started the development of eBooks, eLibraries and eBook Readers. My company obtained  the license to manufacture the eBookMan which was the predecessor of Kindle. We also produced the first electronic libraries for lawyers, doctors and other fields of discipline in Asia. “Library in your Pocket, Knowledge at your Fingertips” and “You can now take the law into your own hands” were catch phrases we used to promote our contents.

Now it has become a battle among the handheld gadgets. For the smart phones, the competition is  among IPHONES, Android phones and Windows 7/Symbian phones. For the tablets, IPADS currently dominate the browsing usage market with 92% share while the Samsung Galaxy, Motorola Xoom and Blackberry Playbook capture the balance.

With the desktops, laptops and the handheld gadgets, downloading contents from the web, electronic libraries are now available offline as well as online and searchable also via Google Desktop. Of course, with data plans or through WI FI, the gadgets can always search the web.

GOD

The ultimate goal is to obtain Wisdom. Google is not limited to the search for data and information which usually answers what Russell Ackoff, a systems theorist and professor of organizational change calls, the Who, What, Where and When. It is also about search for the application of such data and information. It answers the How and for that it becomes knowledge. But knowledge has to be understood. By understanding it, it becomes not only cognitive but analytical as well. The process allows you to synthesize new knowledge from the previously held knowledge. It answers the Why.

When a searcher is required to discern, or judge between good and bad, right and wrong, we call that process as Wisdom. The greater the amount of data, information and knowledge obtained and understood the greater the probability of exercising Wisdom.

Wise men meditate and pray for spiritual guidance aside from analyzing all the facts made available to them when making major decisions

Google is also a great tool for the search for TRUTH. That’s why the Vatican has a website, and I now follow Pope Benedict XIV on Twitter.

On the issues of Marcos Fake Medals and Burial @LNMB, my barber searched via Google the following: Marcos Fake Medals; Marcos Burial at LNMB; Take it from my barber; and Benjamin Maynigo.

He likes the results. Why don’t you do the same? Do it with the Google Wonder Wheel search tool and see what happens.

In the Super 5G I trust!