The topic of discussion for today was yet another interesting one. Personally, I think that forecasting in every aspect, be it in business or our personal lives, it's an important thing to practice. No doubt forecasting may never be accurate, at least it provides us with a framework of what we should should do and where we are probably heading. It basically gives us an idea of what we should work towards and also consider any possible failures and what contingency plans we should prepare for in case anything were to happen.
I quite enjoyed the presentations. What I found quite thought-provoking was how sci-fi movies were possibly a prediction into the future no doubt they are seem quite far-fetched when we watch them now. I would agree with prof in that if people of the past were to see the kind of technology we hold now, they would think it would have been impossible. Perhaps, the idea from movies like the Matrix may be a possibility. I'm not exactly sure about what the movie is really about but it seems to me that it does have a certain link with augmented reality, which is an emerging technology.
Perhaps in future, the flying cars that we have seen in the theatres would be real. It could also be another transportation route for us to take other than the conventional use of roads. Besides, the use of the skies would be a fun idea. But again, we need to remember that with the increased use of technology, we're prone to higher carbon footprints. So perhaps, with this thought in mind, the future could be all green to be environmentally-friendly.
I found one of the session readings by Mike Adams on "The Top 10 Emerging Technologies" a very fascinating and interesting read. The article, as suggested by the title is about the top 10 rising technologies that are important to improving the quality of life of all humanity.
Out of the 10 emerging technologies, I liked the few following in particular:
1) Augmented reality The technology of augmented reality is very similar to that of the project Natal by Xbox 360 where humans could perhaps don some technological device and immerse themselves into the digital world for example. Some examples cited by the article included how we could improve our learning quality through this technology. For example if we were to learn about history, the technology would enable us to get a real feel on the actual scenes of the pages of history. We could perhaps even take a trip down Singapore's past and experience what life what like during the war in 1942 and talk to the "people" on what they felt like at that time. A trip to the museum would perhaps give us a feel of how it how was like, but wouldnt augmented reality tech do even more than that?
This augmented reality technology is a great learning booster for all of us because I fully agree with the author saying that we humans learn best through hands on experiences. I could personally vouch for this as well. It will make learning a much more interesting one as well. And when things are interesting to us,we seem to learn and digest them better and remember them well. Since the hands of time is something we cannot wind back, this augmented reality would give us a chance to have a peek and feel into what it was like then, which would be almost as good as the real thing. I would personally love to talk to famous people like Mozart and Michael Jackson thru this technology and find out what what was going through their minds when they composed music, what inspired them and what they felt like going through life's obstacles etc.
Too much to say about augmented reality really but I doubt that this technology would be really realised until another few decades. Reason being that it'll be expensive, alot of research must be put into things to make learning accurate like alot of voice recognition to be put in and detailed rendering of the scenes etc. The author also addressed that this technology could subject people to propaganda as well. Which is very true and I feel that because augmented reality could enhance our learning and all by many folds, I would think that the effects of propaganda would be more engraved in people as well. Hence, this technology is like a double-edged sword.
2)Vibrational medicine From my understanding of the article, vibrational medicine is healing of the human body without the the use of drugs. Types of vibrational medicine include:phototherapy, spitirual healing, acupuncture and mind/body healing. I think that actually such healings are better to people no doubt they may perhaps take a longer time because they dont have the type of "power" or effects that drugs have over us. But on the flipside, vibrational medicine is not addictive or we do not necessarily always have to rely on them unlike typical western medicine. What I mean is, things like panadol, when we take them each time we have headaches, we actually become reliant on them all the time. Natural healing should take place where possible as it does not introduce any foreign chemicals or whatsoever into our systems. Our body is after able to self-heal. (like how we can recover from wounds. This is why I would think that doctors would usually perform placebo operations on patients because of our human capabilities and not because of drugs.
(Just a little something more on placebo effect)
I feel that the human mind is the also very capable in the area of healing and in other ways. I believe that when we focus our minds on something, it can be done. In the polytechnic where I did archery, my coach would always give us mental training sessions. He'd tell us to picture ourselves at the shooting line and going through all the steps to the point where we are about to release the arrow. And then we would picture ourselves hitting the target. It was somewhere along this line. And many a times, it works. Though it has nothing to do with healing, I think it's a good example to show how when we tell ourselves to think in a certain way,things can actually happen. The mind is indeed a very powerful tool.
3) Genetic engineering on humans Last but not least, genetic engineering is an emerging technology that allows us to change the way we want ourselves to be. In the article, it gave an example that we could make our future generations hate the taste of sugar and thereby reducing problems of obesity and heart diseases. Yes, this is a good thing but we would face the ethical issue of whether it is right for us to play God. Why not genetically alter our children to be obedient to us? Give humans super senses like superman? Or enable our dogs to do our homework? No doubt is sounds like a good plan, wouldnt we be in a way disrupting nature's way of things? With respect to changing who we are or our future generations, I would think that genetic engineering would somehow deprive us of living life as what it was originally intended to be. Things like making our dogs to our homework or making children obedient, it doesnt make us better people but rather diverts our purpose of being human. Altering to make out future generations to be who we want them to be, would they be happy? Still, I am sure genetic engineering does have its benefits and it could be explored in other ways.
While it is expected that fossil fuels will continue to be the main energy generator in years to come, the world is realising it is after all a non-renewable energy and hence, game plans to implement a more sustainable way of creating energy (and being green at the same time)must be acted out soon. The answer? Renewable energy.
Renewable energy seems like the way to go but why didnt anybody think of this long before? Seems that only when things happen, do we start scrambling to find alternatives to save the earth.
I liked the idea mentioned during class about how we could install solar panels on every home and use it to produce energy for our daily living. I would think that such ideas would also enable us to have cheaper bills aside from the construction of the infrastructure because the sun's energy is unlimited and everyone would have free access to it. Plus, the sun's energy is free too, just that we have to tap into it.
I think the most interesting take away from the class for the day is that there are so many other sources of energy that we can utilize which do not necessarily rely on natural resources all the time. One for instance is nuclear energy. Advantages of Nuclear Energy
- Nuclear power plants could still produce electricity after coal and oil become scarce - Nuclear power plants need less fuel than ones which burn fossil fuels. One ton of uranium produces more energy than is produced by several million tons of coal or several million barrels of oil - Coal and oil burning plants pollute the air. Well-operated nuclear power plants do not release contaminants into the environment
Considering that Singapore does not have its own natural resources, this is one area we could research and develop.
above: just a video on other benefits of nuclear energy. I find it interesting that one technology can have so many other uses. It leaves us to think of other possible ways we could capitalise on it.
I'd personally give the session only a 7 because the topic on renewable energy is not quite my cup of tea no doubt I did pick up some interesting points from class.
The day's session was a continuation from last week's topic on Biobusiness but it focused more on the agriculture aspect this time.
Agriculture has been around for the past 100,000 years and it has undergone vast changes in terms of its development in the way people have done things. In ancient China, the Chinese came up with many types of technologies that were not used by Europeans then such as the wheel barrow, the iron plough and many others.
The methods of agriculture was also different and more efficient compared to Europe and it is through trade and exploration that these methods were discovered.
One for example is where Europeans would scatter seeds onto the fields and grow them from there. The Chinese on the other hand, used technology to embed the seeds deep into the soil in rows for ample room to grow and away from birds.
These days, agriculture is evolving because of the mounting pressure to increase food production levels due to an increasing global population. Currently, the supply and demand are steering towards a higher demand and soon, the world's population would be too big to feed itself. The answer to such issues rests on GM food where it provides good opportunity to businesses to research and look into given the current situation.
Genetical-modification of food would basically alter the genes of the organisms and improves the crop resistance towards herbicides and pesticides. The fact that we can inject ingredients to the plants, boost the nutritional value of the food for the end consumer and of course, improves crop yield as well. However, there are rising concerns that GM food may have a negative effect on us in the long run due to the chemicals introduced into the foods.
While I feel that the above may be true, I would think that we should still accept GM as a solution for the time being and work on ways to curb global warming because this is a more pressing issue that is taking place right now and its a contributing factor to our low food productions due to things like fire which destroy the crops. Currently, the negative effects of GM food is not as severe as global warming. Hence, if we turned our focus to fight against global warming, we are alleviating our reliance on GM food or rather surpressing the need to turn to GM food totally in future. In the meantime, more research could be done to lessen the possible negative effects GM food may have on us. Perhaps by the time we do the GM food, it wont pose so much harm to us.
P.S no ratings as I didnt attend class for the day as I was sick but I was told the session for the day was easy to digest so I believe it was an an awesome session. But the readings were insightful and for that, it gets 3.5/5.
Technological advancement is constantly bringing standards of living to greater heights each time. The session's focus on BioBusiness has enlightened me on how this area of life sciences encompasses a wide spectrum of activities from the environment, biomedical and agri-veterinary aspects and how it is always improving these areas.
Zooming in more on healthcare, I would think the need to improve health care is very vital because we're more exposed to new illnesses, diseases and health issues than before comapred to the past. Things like the recent H1N1 that never existing before has striked fear in the hearts of many due to our vulnerability to the germ or GM food and how it may have effects on our health in the long run that we curently do not know of. With advancement in technology, we are better able to understand these problems and its amazing how humans can come up with new technology to counter these health hazards and save lifes.
For example, nanotechnology, a rising technology these days, potentially offers a cure for cancer.
In March 2007, researchers from the University of California announced their development of an optic device called nanoprobes, capable of killing cancerous cells. These nanoprobes that are made from iron oxide seeks out the cancerous cells and attach themselves to it. A magnetic field is applied to these cancerous areas, causing the iron oxide to heat up and kill the cells without destroying our body tissues. Lab tests performed has proven these nanoprobes to effective in slowing the growth of cancer or even eradicating it totally. Such developments give humans a ray of hope in prolonging or even saving the lives of their loved ones and it though its still in its experimental phase, I would say that this technology is worth being optimistic about and it would definitely change the lives of people.
Touching in on the guest speakers of the day, I would say that Guo Jun's presentation was a notable one because it was an interesting topic that has been brought forth in a manner that caught everyone's attention. It was basically about being able to grow organs by simply taking a small sample of a tissue or organ from the injured area, extract the cells from the tissue and grow them afterwhich. I would personally feel that on one hand its good because we wont have the fear of having a lack of organ donors if we ever needed it. On the other hand, some in class mentioned that people may get complacent with the technology and take their health for granted. i would personally not be the latter because I always feel that the original organ would always be better and can perform its function better than what technology may offer me if I took care of it. Plus, there are still those chances, no matter how slim, that the body may reject these organs. At the end of the day, we may just end up wasting more money and wasting our health for nothing.
Today's topic was something close to the hearts of everyone: ICT. Be it our blackberries, ipods or radios, we all have a piece of ICT around with us. I was particularly interested in prof's post about project natal. My friend had introduced to me this video that prof had a year ago but back then I didnt think of how this "immersive" technology as prof described would actually help in society. It was interesting how prof suggested that such technologies could be used to talk to lonely individuals or even be used as a virtual assistant to remind us of our daily tasks.
I asked Zhu Yie and Michelle for their opinions on this and they gave me great ideas as well. Zhu Yie mentioned how this could actually help in talking to autistic people who usually keep to themselves. Perhaps this could be a way for them to open up themselves to people around them and be more comfortable. Michelle on the other hand, was talking about the setbacks that this technology may have if it were to replace humans in babysitting kids. "What if the child thinks this is real? Won't it replace the human touch?"
As for me, I felt that it was a whole new avenue to explore. Perhaps we could save up on our money and use this technology to virtually transport us to other countries with the use of GPS. No doubt the real thing is always better, I would think its a good alternative because we can't possibly travel everywhere in this lifetime!
Here's another video on Project Natal and how it brings new meaning to entertainment:
Which brings me to remember a movie called "Gamer" that came out in 2009.
In a nutshell, the movie's about players of the game where they get to control characters that are actually real people in the game and these characters are often being forced to fight to the death. Wow! Real people being stuck in a virtual world. Talk about immersive! It sounds abit far-fetched but it'll be cool if we could enter into our favourite games like Super Mario and experience how it'll be like to fight off the baddies. That said, the part where we get our butts kicked by the bad guys is a different story. But then again, this immersive technology has plenty of potential and many doors of opportunity to be explored be it in entertainment or in society!
Coming back to other class discussions, we learnt new terms such as cloud computing and crowdrise and had a debate on whether the Internet is necessary in rural areas. While I do agree educating those living in rural areas will improve their standards of living in the long run through the knowledge they gain, I would think that such progress may take a while for people to adapt to it. They have after all been living a life without much technology and may feel its not necessary. Their acceptance to it would lead them to new opportunities and a new and better life as well.
I personally enjoyed the session alot. I'd give it a 9/10. :)
There are essentially 3 ways to cope with change: 1) Make it happen (Proactive) 2) Respond when it happens (Reactive) 3) Be surprised when it happens (BLF) lol.
So what brings about change really? Aside from things discussed in class like germs, evolution, innovation and others that contribute to this on-going phenomenon, I would think that fear, is also another contributing factor. Fear of terrorism prompts countries to step up on the national security. Businesses's fear of falling behind of competitors stir up the need to revise business strategies and tactics. The fear of lack of food in the generations to come gives rise to genetically modified food. So..perhaps the term "kiasuism" is not just confined to Singapore alone. I would think it is applicable to everyone else on Earth.
It is a natural thing to fear the unknown and make changes from there before things happen. In fact, taking this proactive step is the best game-plan anyone would think of because when change comes knocking at your door and your unprepared, you're likely to get lost as reality just seems to have become more fast-paced for you to cope with.
"Change" is such a vast topic and we've discussed this in class for quite awhile now. I guess it just goes to show how important this issue of change is. The world is constantly changing. I can't think of a better example than our dear Singapore. Compared to where we came from, the present is such a huge contrast. I would think that if the government then did not take that initiative to want to bring Singapore out of the state (riots, high porverty, low literacy rates)we were in, Singapore would not have changed to what it is today.
The saying "Time and tide waits for no man" is true to a large extent like how change that comes with time will not wait for us either. The sad truth is that, we cannot change change to suit us but we have to change us to suit change. So yeah I conclude that the best way to counter change is change itself! Hahaaa
But the thing about change is that, its a double-edged sword. Change can reap positive results like how a change in leadership in a company opens the door to fresh new ideas and thus more profits. Change can also lead to negative results. Using the example of GM food again, while we try to counter the problem of food scarcity with this method, we're also making ourselves vulnerable to more things like the health implications GM food brings. It's funny how we can try to cope with change but yet we can never really have answers to everything. But we'll never know if we don't try right?
I feel that the world has undergone alot of changes and it takes a person with genuine concern and courage to stand up to make changes in society. Famous people from the pages of history include Mahatma Ghandi who saw helped India to Independence and an advocator of peace and Mother Teresa who poured her heart to the sick and poor and changed the hearts of people towards the outcast. But my most favourite of all would be Michael Jackson. Let's look beyond the controversies of his plastic surgeries and colour, this guy did change the world with his music and love for the unfortunate. What I admire about him the most is that he uses his musical talents to bring across messages of love to the world. (Heal the world, Man in the mirror, we are the world etc). I think it doesn't take a powerful politician to bring about change. Just a normal human with a willing heart is all it takes. They are what I call leaders of change.
The session for the day was yet another insightful one with alot of discussions. Debatable things like how whether water should be a right or commodity was of interest to me. I like the fact that the presentations are becoming more interesting perhaps because the class now has a rough gauge on how presentations should go now and presentations are kept short and sweet, complying to the time restrictions. As a whole, I'd give the session a 10.
