‘Think Again,’ says the National Geographic Channel

If you found yourself at the break of the 1800s visiting the streets of London, you would have been part of the "scientific tourism" scene. You would have been one of those people, mostly men, who traveled with their wares and their theories on why Nature behaved a certain way, given certain conditions, or you would have been part of the enthusiastic audience. Boring, you say? Think again. This was the time when most things were just being invented and discovered to power the Industrial Revolution. Street lamps were lit with torches and people still read by candlelight in their homes. Michael Faraday, the one who would figure out the equation that became the basis for power generation, was, at that time, still a young man himself and trying to find his way to learn from these traveling men with their gadgets and potions. Reading Michael Faraday and the Electrical Century by Iwan Rhys Morus (Icon Books, Cambridge UK: 2004), describing to us how a particular group of people, mostly men, on Albemarle Street in London, the same street where Darwin published his Origin of Species, studied certain aspects of Nature and dazzled audiences by lecturing about them and performing experiments with materials to show what they had come upon, I felt thrilled to imagine myself sitting in the audience and watching men passionately take on Nature, far from the way that my science teachers in elementary, high school or college ever did. The "traveling science men" were ushering the reign of reason, nudging it to get the world out of the dark, literally as well as metaphorically. This curiosity and the struggle to satisfy it with reason and ingenuity, as well as the encouragement it got from the English society, is ingrained in the English society and is now part of a long, deeply held tradition. I could not help but feel envious of the times they lived in. There was an atmosphere of infinite curiosity and zest to explore Nature, to coax her so she could yield to us her secrets. It was a time highly charged with seduction, by and of the human mind. The experiments were not just shows that revealed the utility of Nature; it also dazzled us with its beauty. Today, seminars and trainings are very specialized. Here, there seems to be a desperate need to engage the public in science as it relates to our daily lives and interests. Science still seems to most only a difficult subject in school.

But I thought again. I saw a preview of the National Geographic Channel’s new ad campaign "Think Again." It features short TV ads that turn the way we look at things from the usual. Watch out for their take on "4 wheels," the "telephone" and which kills more than airplane crashes, everyday. I had a chance to be given a preview of these things and was so grateful that it turned the knob in my head to look at these aspects of life differently. I realized that I was extremely fortunate, too, to be living in these times because the seduction I want from being alive, through views in science, wildlife and lifestyle adventures, comes to me in my own bedroom 24 hours a day, as long as I can pay my cable fees. The cable fee is nothing compared to what the "scientific tourists" in 19th century London paid for those lectures that the poor and unschooled Faraday had real trouble securing for himself. The National Geographic is one "reality show" that captures what it means to be alive, not just the thrills and adrenaline, but the patience, serendipity and dedication of those who come up with these intelligent programs. I have to say that I cannot make sense of most of the reality shows that TV has come up with. There is something about them that does not quite sit right with my sense of being alive. I guess it has something to do with the speed within which the "participants" in the reality show are expected to deal with some aspects of life that I have always thought should be best dealt with as we would a "slow-cooked" meal, for savoring, over a long dinner discussion, without a camera and microphone. The National Geographic Channel does not dilute the depth and pleasure of this experience for me but rather, enriches it. We do not lose the sense of "struggle" and "hardwork" that their scientists and explorers necessarily go through in order to give us the episodes that make us know ourselves and the universe a little better. They do not insult the pace of life and the pace of the human mind to digest the information, leaving us in the end to be "open" and most of all, grateful. The NGC is an antidote for the usual reality shows and the NGC program I strongly recommend that you watch out for is the Ultimate Survivor: The Mystery of Us airing on March 20, 9 p.m., which will feature a perspective on the various human versions that could have lived side by side at one time – from hobbits to "Goliath" versions of our human ancestors. What could they have thought of each other when they saw each other face to face? It is a story of human evolution, as we travel back through time, on what could have made us the only hominid species left standing now. Other programs they have lined up like "Jungleweek" on April 10, will feature rainforest creatures that can do Michael Jackson’s "moonwalk," ages before humans ever learned to dance. It will also feature the mystery feeder of an oddly shaped flower in the tropical jungle. Other programs I have looked at will surely seduce you with pleasures for the mind and your sense of adventure, albeit vicariously.

I have no vested, personal interest in the National Geographic Channel but Joaquin does. Joaquin is a five-year-old kid who befriended me when I visited the Avilon Zoo in Montalban a few weeks ago. He was in my group and kept on telling me, while holding my hand, that he has seen most of the animals we were visiting, in the National Geographic Channel. At one point, our guide mentioned that a good number of the animals we saw are found in South America. I then asked Joaquin if he would want to go to South America. He quickly replied: "Of course not! There is no TV in South America so I won’t be able to watch National Geographic!"

Whether we like it or not, television brings the world, the universe, to the intimate scrutiny of some of our senses with which our imagination melds. I have always been critical of television programs and always say that there is no substitute for the real thing. But not all of us can trek Mount Everest, patiently live and wait to photograph elusive jungle creatures, unearth fossils that reveal what makes us human, sail solo around the world, swim the longest coldwater stretch near the Arctic, and have witty travel companions, really half of the pleasure of world travel. The next best thing is the National Geographic Channel. It ignites your sense of being alive and inspires you to try to touch the world and move in it, with your limbs when you can, to discover the world for yourself and examine the way you have viewed the world and your place in it. It expands your sense of life and helps makes these fleeting lifetimes we have a wonderful time, as any, to be alive.

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