MANILA, Philippines — This is the title of Time Magazine’s one-page feature where selected celebrities (heads of states, Nobel laureates, movie actors and producers, sportsmen, feminists, etc.) are asked 10 questions on their philosophy of life, leadership style, vision and priorities, views on controversial issues, and what makes them different from folks like you and I.

P-Noy who was featured in the January 23, 2012 issue, indeed looked very “presidential” in his piña barong as he answered questions ranging from economic growth (opportunities for upward mobility among ordinary people like call center agents), “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap”; GMA’s being charged for electoral fraud; the peace process; US engagement with Asia and the country; China and territorial dispute in the Spratlys, maternal and reproductive health, and what he would consider as his important legacy. Those who have been regularly monitoring the media would be able to guess the President’s response to the above question. On the last one – his legacy and the problem of out-migration, P-Noy sounded quite optimistic when he related the story of his experience with a group of 80 university students. He asked them how many would stay in the country and only two raised their hands. “I think that number will be different,” he said, implying that the schemes that are now being put in place would be able to provide the incentives that would discourage further brain drain. Of course, and this is the opinion of many besides myself, this would take a deliberate individual and collective effort to reverse the trend. This topic by itself could be the focus of research studies, forums and think tanks.

Of the several Time features that I reviewed, I found the responses of non-politicos much more interesting. Maybe because they can afford to be more candid about their thoughts, and more open about sharing what they have learned from their own personal experiences.

Jane Fonda, at age 73, had written in her book “Prime Time” about the joys of being old where her major theme is gustiness. Here, she devoted 50 pages of the book to sex advice. I can empathize with Robert Redford, the “heart throb” of our generation, who was passionate about politics. “I am political about my country, about what it is, how strong it is, how strong it remains. I am not a left-wing person – just a person interested in the sustainability of my country,” this actor who turned director because he wanted more control of the story, said.

Historian David McCullough discussed how the death of letter writing affects the study of history. “The loss of people writing – a composition, a letter or a report – is not just the loss for the record. It’s the loss of the process of working your thoughts out on paper, of having an idea that you would never have had if you weren’t (writing)."

Finally, two intellectuals analyzed how we make decisions. Psychologist and Nobel-winning economist, Daniel Kahneman said: “Because people don’t think very carefully and are influenced by all sorts of superficial things, they procrastinate and don’t read the small print. You’ve got to create situations so they’ll make better decisions for themselves.” New York Times columnist David Brooks, in his book on brain science, “The Social Animal” noted that “we are primarily emotional when making decisions as opposed to rational.” Too, that many things happen at the unconscious level – “how we relate to people, how our characters form, how we view the world.”

Brooks’ thesis was the importance of “emotional connection” and cites the US Congress as an example of a dysfunctional group that issues statements or engage in monologues instead of learning to communicate with each other.

Erratum: In my column last Wednesday, I inadvertently omitted the Gini coefficient of the Philippines (44%) which was shown to have the highest level of income inequality in Southeast Asia. My e-mail is florangel.braid@gmail.com.