Machine is getting smarter (facial recognition).
In “It might be you” Stephen Bishop sings about “if I found the place, would I recognize the face“.
The face he has waited for all of his life.
Babies could hear before birth (the logic behind classical music during pregnancy).
Then psychologists theorize about us looking for that first trusted face (our mom’s or nurse’s).
I have talked to a bunch of xe-om (taxi scooter), who echoed the same theme: it’s hard to find “chan tinh”, real love.
Sounds hopeless to me.
But surrounded by young people on buses and on campus, I saw a different version: careful but calculated risk-taking.
Man-woman, man-man, woman-woman pairing.
If only we brought back Tootsie, “I became a better man to you by being a woman….”.
Men are built to conquer (biologically). Woman, nurturing.
They could make a perfect marketing team: cold-caller and customer relationship manager.
For now, we are at a juncture where men and women roles are being revised if not reversed.
Friedman’s Feminine Mystique needs its own 2.0 mobile version for Vietnam .
I don’t know about recognizing the face, but I sure have recognized the foods.
For the past three months, I have exacted my revenge.
Also, a good dose of music and arts (highly recommend the museum on Ly Tu Trong for arts and history and C’est Moi for live music).
During the course of my rediscovery (see Adventure in My Own Land), I stumbled upon “Cu Lao” where Nguyen Huu Canh founded South Vietnam.
Our own Columbus did not meet native Indian nor was he offered Turkeys for Thanksgiving.
But he might very well be.
We now have a city nearing ten million mostly young college students.
My job has taken me to different campuses, where I saw learners of all shades and stripes.
Part tech savvy, part social intelligence, these “faces” will be our future leaders.
Would I recognize those faces, if I found the place.
I might. For some strange reasons, I feel closer to my now-deceased Mom by being here, than in the US.
Perhaps there are more faces like hers. Perhaps they put on Ao Dai (see Mom’s Ao Dai). I can’t figure it out yet.
But I guess I have found the place. That’s the easy part. The hard part is to recognize the face, as if facial recognition apps could help.
Thang Nguyen 555 