Emblem of a lost leader

QUESTION What is the meaning behind the national symbol of Indonesia, based on a mythical bird? Who designed it?

THE national emblem of Indonesia is the Garuda Pancasila. In Hinduism, the Garuda is a divine sun bird that carries the god Vishnu. It symbolises knowledge, power, bravery, loyalty and discipline.

The Garuda bears an escutcheon: a shield bearing the Indonesian coat of arms, which has five emblems representing the Pancasila — the five principles of government of the state.

The five-pointed star in the centre represents belief in the one and only God. In the bottom right quarter, on a red background, is a chain representing a just and civilised society.

At the upper right quarter, on a white background, is a banyan tree, representing a unified Indonesia.

In the upper left quarter, on a red background, is a head of the Javanese wild bull, symbolising democracy. In the lower left quarter, on a white background, are a rice flower and cotton stalk, representing social justice and sustenance.

In its talons, the bird clutches a scroll, which is an extract from a poem about the reconciliation between the Hindu and Buddhist faiths.

The designer of the emblem is a controversial figure in Indonesia. Sultan Hamid II (1913-78) was the last Pontianak ruler before the establishment of a unified state of Indonesia.

The Pontianak sultanate was an Islamic Malay state on the western coast of the island of Borneo from the 18th century.

Hamid II was raised by a Scottish foster mother, Salome Catherine Fox, and an English guardian, Edith Maud Curteis. He married Marie van Delden, the daughter of a Dutch captain, and was a supporter of Dutch interests in his country.

The netherlands, the colonial ruler, formally transferred sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies on December 27, 1949, to the united States of Indonesia, a federal Indonesian symbol: The Garuda bird and the country’s coat of arms affiliation of 30 states. However, the states gradually dissolved themselves into a unified republic. Hamid II saw this as a takeover by the dominant Javanese and conspired with Dutch army captain Raymond Westerling in staging an antiRepublican coup.

The coup failed and the united States of Indonesia was dissolved by President Sukarno on August 17, 1950, and replaced by a unitary Republic of Indonesia. Hamid II was imprisoned and his political rights were stripped.

For many years, he was perceived as a villain in Indonesian post-independence history. However, today he is viewed as a man who had a different view on how the country should have been organised.

Corrine Prasetio, London SW8.

QUESTION What is the origin of the word ‘tantamount’?

TAnTAMounT has been used since the 1640s and is derived from the French phrase tant amount, ‘ be equivalent’ (1628); the Anglo-French tant amunter, ‘amount to as much’ (13th century); and old French tant, ‘as much’.

The word is ultimately derived from the Latin tantus ‘so much’ plus amonter, ‘amount to, go up’, which comes from the Latin phrase ‘to the mountain’, from Latin ad-, ‘to’ + montem, ‘mountain’.

Perhaps the most famous use of this word is by Mahatma Gandhi: ‘Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.’

James Allenby, Catford, Kent.

QUESTION Is the claim we use only 10 per cent of our brains a myth?

THE origin of this popular, but incorrect, belief has been linked to the u.S. psychologist and author William James, who argued in The Energies of Men (1908) that ‘ we are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources’. James, working with his colleague Boris Sidis, had come to this conclusion having raised Sidis’s son William to have a reported IQ of 250. James does not give a specific percentage.

The 10 per cent figure is first mentioned in the preface to the 1936 edition of Dale Carnegie’s bestselling book How To Win Friends And Influence People.

Another source might be the fact 90 per cent of the cells in the brain are glial cells — the white matter that provides physical and nutritional help for the other 10 per cent of cells, the 86 billion neurones that make up the grey matter and are responsible for higher cognitive functions, such as memory. However, white cells can’t be harnessed to improve intelligence.

The myth’s durability lies in the tantalising possibility that we could become so much more intelligent, successful or creative if we were able to utilise that wasted 90 per cent.

The adult human brain weighs 3.1 lb. The cerebrum, which makes up 85 per cent of this weight, performs all higher cognitive functions and voluntary actions in the body.

The remainder is made up of the cerebellum, responsible for movement and balance; and the brain stem, which controls essential involuntary functions, such as breathing.

Imaging techniques such as PET scans and MRIs allow us to see that nearly every region of the brain is fully active during even everyday tasks such as walking and talking.

While it’s true that at any given moment all of the brain’s regions are not firing at the same time, most are almost continually active over a 24-hour period.

Alvin Hawes, Harrow, Middx.

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