Heyya! So I talked about my younger brother in my blog entry “Differences That Are To Extreme Levels”. If you haven’t read it yet, check it out, like, now.
https://velvetbrushfoot.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/differences-that-are-to-extreme-levels/
Done? Great!
Okay, so since that blog entry, I’ve been asking my brother to try out different things. Of course, I was sure he’d keep on giving me that idiotic smile which spells “No”. Then one day, I asked him to go bowling, and he agreed. Just like that.
So I went through trouble to cancel some appointments I originally have because this opportunity is unusually rare. There we were, prepping to go out. I can tell how nervous he is because he keeps asking me petty stuff like if he’s wearing the right type of shoes, shorts, shirt, etc. And after about twenty minutes of trying to convince my mom that I’ll take good care of my brother, we headed out.
The commute was rather pleasant because I realized how observant my brother is. He saw the weird gestures that people did, and was able to predict how others would react to a certain movement by a fellow passenger.
“When someone checks his mobile phone, the person beside him is most likely to look over the screen, then bring out his own phone after about fifteen seconds.” he whispered.
My brother also noticed the slight changes along the sidewalks. About three months ago, we went to a high school near our bowling destination to inquire about registration for new students. I was incredibly surprised at how much details he remembered from then that he was able to take note what was new.
Getting off the jeepney, and into the vast park full of people, it’s as though he was delighted to be able to take in such wonderful sights. Crowds sitting on the grass, people playing Ultimate Frisbee, soccer, softball, couples snuggling on benches, and loads of joggers, he took time to get a good look on each of them. Carefully taking slow-motioned steps, one at a time.
From here, it was vivid how my brother processes things. Me, I would observe, oh yes very much, and jump to my inquiries about it, my ideas for improvement, and all sorts of other possibilities. My brother, he’d observe, and really understand how things work. He’d focus on getting a firm grasp on whatever phenomenon he’s looking into, and try to predict outcomes. So that’s why he stuck to one game, because he’s still in the process of truly understanding it. And since that game involves other human players, it must really take some time to learn it fully to the extent of predicting tendencies and results.
Wow.
By the time I was teaching him how to bowl, I was so sure about his behavior. He wouldn’t throw the ball until I answered all his questions, and demonstrated about six times over. And he insisted that we play on the same lane, by doing this, he can confidently study the movement of the ball through the floorboards without worrying that there might be different results due to deviance in the construction of the distinct lanes. Though of course, he might have forgotten the effect of using different bowling balls, but hey, it’s a good start.
We had a great game, took almost an hour since he needed a few demonstrations from time to time. But his scores grew better with each frame. As we hung out under the young evening sky to rest, I felt nothing but pure happiness that I didn’t give up on my brother who was his own genius after all.
Our score sheet. Mao (my younger brother): 51 points. Macci (hey, that’s me): 75 points (yeah, I’m pretty rusty now)
The Adventures of A Heartless Nerd-Freak 