Unifying Diversity

I read an article in the Ateneo website featuring a non-fiction class of Dr. Queena Lee-Chua. She's a professor from ADMU who graduated with a bachelor's degree in math and a doctorate degree in Psychology from the university. (I look up to her! I know a lot of Ateneo Psych students who don't like math much. I was one of them, haha.) A faculty member of the Math and Psychology departments at present, she also writes for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. (I've read some of her articles in her column, Eureka! Some had mathematical equations as puzzles while others had updates on math olympiad results. I also read one dedicated to her mentor who then turned into a good friend). I find her writing style informative and at the same time, able to capture one's interest. In other words, entertaining. It is no surprise then, that in addition to her psychology and math teaching position, Dr. Lee-Chua is currently teaching a non-fiction creative writing class. Her goal? Merging science with creative writing.

I'm quoting the author of the website's article, Martin Villanueva, a 3rd year student of AB Creative Writing... "In her Irwin Chair Lecture on Feb. 21, 2006, Dr. Queena N. Lee-Chua conveyed the significant part she plays to fill a void in Philippine writing today. 'Venturing into science: Creative writing by non-specialists' delved into the art of writing science (a perceived oxymoron within the norms of society".

In that class, science is presented by creative writing means. Jargons are probably lessened, making scientific information easily appreciated by the majority. With such technique, there would be increased number of readers and more effective information dissemination. (I'm curious how these essays sound. I may need to find a copy of some of them soon.)

While reading the article, I couldn't help but look at my own experiences as an undergraduate student :-) My course back then leaned towards science but I've always loved writing and anything that has to do with the arts! (Maybe that's why I jive with the creative people of Comm and other Social Sciences.) I used to ask myself if I were in the right course coz I disliked my two chemistry subjects. (The last one under Dr. Guidote was different. His was enlightening!) I finished BS Psych, nonetheless.

I've always wanted to take creative writing classes in college but never got to do it (I was too busy dissecting sharks&cats, observing my okra plants grow under controlled lighting, and hitting myself with arnis sticks! Or just enjoying tambay hours at the Happy Bench) I had a colorful college life. But I laugh at myself when I remember how grade conscious I was and how much I pretended to hate being called a "nerd" by some of my friends. If being a nerd meant finishing papers on their deadlines and studying for exams, ok then I used to be one! I was a procrastinating nerd though. (We finished our thesis during the night of submission, eeps, praying that we could still have it bound). We still submitted it on time. :-)

Warning: to those who hate conversations about grades, skip this part! Franco used to call me GC for being grade conscious. I think my being less of a GC at present is a sign of how I've grown for the past years. I still am a bit GC now but in a much lesser degree. I've learned to learn in graduate school instead of studying to get an A (or in my case in U.P. now, to get a 1). It's actually liberating to let go of one's GCness. Maybe that's how OC (obsessive compulsive) people feel when they've finally liberated themselves from their OCness. Because of my newfound freedom, I now find time to actually do the things that I've always wanted to do but haven't done much of. That includes writing, traveling, and trying out new things!

Going back to the article, we are not asked to choose between science or creativity. We can have both. We are not asked to choose between math or writing. Dr. Queena Lee-Chua herself is both a "number" and "word" person. All of these are re-affirming one of my mantras: Live a life of diverse interests. In the end, a unifying whole emerges.

Just like what Dr. Lee-Chua envisions, science and arts are one. And just like in the non-fiction creative writing essays her students have written, substantive creativity resides.

(For the entire article, go to www.admu.edu.ph/ and search for 'Science, meet Creativity:' Irwin Chair Lecture or Dr. Queena Lee-Chua.)