We are living on this planet, as if we have another one to go to. That is what I feel as we come to today's topic on Technology and Industrial Development: Moving Towards Sustainable Development. Just how sustainable is our environment now? As I type this post out, waste are being generated in another part of the world, electricity is being used up and more fossil fuel are polluting Mother Earth. As usual, prof always had a quote for us:
"Sustainability requires a shift from linear to circular thinking.
Old industrial model: economic development VS environmental well-being.
Sustainable development model: economic development AND environmental well-being."
-Prof Shahi
Like what Matthew presented to us today, is Economic Development and Environmental Sustainability a Trade-off? Can we not have the best of both worlds? To have a high Human Development Index (HDI) as well as a clean environment? I guess thats where innovation comes into play. One day, I believe that innovation will progress to the extent that GreenTech and CleanTech is being widely employed such that we dont rely on fossil fuels and coal. Singapore being one of the Four Asian Tigers, we overcame a lot before becoming a highly developed economy. However, through these measures of achieving high growth and industrialisation, we unintentionally contributed to the environmental pollution as well. Later generations of countries undergoing industrialisation will undoubtedly benefit more as they can incorporate new technology, that can perhaps ensure sustainability as well as a clean environment.
In one of Prof's video today, there was a point about requiring 3-5 planet Earths if we all were to live the standard North American life. This substantiated a fact that I introduced in my presentation as well, about Shrinking Our Ecological Footprints. The Americans are one of the greatest consumers, and they have a huge global influence. If we use them as a standard for comparison, needing 2 more planets just to sustain our human life, I feel that it is a bit ridiculous. Despite so much technology, like cloning of animals and plants, and agriculture technology like vertical farming, are we still facing shortages of food and resources? The amount that we are consuming is alarming.
I feel that every individual has a part to play in making our developments sustainable. We have the responsibility to carry on what previous innovaters have build for us, and equal duty to bring it forward to our future generations, either at its original state or an improved one. We should not rely too much on the government or other corporations to make our developments sustainable, while we continue wasting resources as though we have backups.
In the second part of today's lesson, we moved on to Technology and Innovation Management. I found this quote by Albert Einstein on the internet, and thought that it is a relatively good quote with regards to today's topic.
“Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them. ”
-Albert Einstein
Which is why we have such people called innovators. Problems and solutions are just a cycle that never ends. When one problem comes, the solution to it will indefinitely spawn another problem, that again requires a new answer. Innovators are the ones who sit down and think of ways to solve these problems, be it in product form or services. All these require higher level of thinking, until we reach a saturation point where no further innovations can happen. Is that really possible? Perhaps in the far future when there is guaranteed sustainability and no further problems can be identified. However, there is bound to be a cynic in this complicated world that lives to oppose-breeding new problems.
I liked the video that Prof showed us, about the Andes Teletransporter. It is a really great inspiration of innovation and technology.
Eugene and Spencer presented about China's oil problem and the company 3M respectively. To think about it, Singapore is an example of a country that innovates to solve our problems. We face a lot of constrains being a small country, we lack resources like land and food. So what do we do? We reclaim land, we indulge in technology to get our own food and water. Innovation is important, only with receptivity. This brings me back to week 1's lesson, about how receptive people are in changes. Innovation is a change. Innovation management is the process of organising these changes, for without it, is it impossible for R&D to be efficient.
I feel that there is still more room for discussion on sustainable development and what we can do on a personal basis. I agree with what my classmates mentioned about the starbucks tumbler etc, but I feel that the bubble is bigger than that. Overall for today's lesson, I would rate it 9. Class gets better each time. However, I feel that the readings are a little too heavy, but I'll try my best to read all of them.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Lesson #2 Technology, Society and Global Dominance & Human Development
Yesterday's lesson had us discussing mainly about global dominance and human development. Prof mentioned about the rising star vs the falling star, and the characteristics they held. I felt that it was very clear cut, and makes it much easier for us to identify companies and countries that are on the rise to being dominant, and the falling ones due to their closed perspectives and disinterest in learning from others etc.
We started the Individual Oral Presentations by our guest star speakers. 4 brave souls came up to do great presentations. First was by Ellen, on Americanization. Second was by Benji on Internet Addiction, followed by Prema on The Capability Approach, and lastly Agriculture by Nickolas.
I felt that one of the most interesting part of the lesson, apart from the presentations, was the video that Prof let us watch on globalization. Why is it that big corporations like Nike and Gap for example, produce so much cargo, earn so much profits, but yet pay their workers pittance. Although some may say that globalization is actually helpful to the workers, rather than being unemployed. In most cases, they are already grateful for having a job, despite the low pay. However, I am against the fact that big stars are paid so much just to advertise the brand, but yet the wages of the workers cannot be increased. Not only the advertisers are highly paid, even the managers of such companies are earning millions.
I was exposed to the MDG-Millenium Development Goals, which is basically 8 goals that the world wants to fulfil by 2015. They are:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality rate
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development
If these goals are achieved by 2015, the world would definitely be a much better places. However, with what we are doing now, is the target dateline plausible? So many children all over the world are still dying of starvation, mothers are dying from childbirth due to poor sanitation..but what are the rest of the world doing? People are wasting resources in developed countries, they are taking advantage of the bountiful riches their land bestowed upon them. Upon seeing the video, hearing of so many deaths across the world, I really want to help them, I really wish that the world, the UN will do a little more. These people do not deserve to die, they still have a future. ):
The key takeaway message I got from the lesson was once again Prof's message at the back of the SR. "Change is inevitable and often neccesary; the transition process can often be difficult and painful (for some)."
Development=change and vice versa? Or do they not mean the same thing. Change is indeed inevitable. Things have been changing since the stone age, or rather, even before the stone age. We have changed from the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and now Neolithic periods. We are changing everyday. Technology changes everyday; Change happens, whether we want it to or not. For without change, we will still be stuck back in time, in our own little bubble of sticks and wood to make fire.
I felt that we could discuss more about the MDG, and how we can help to achieve them rather than sitting back and letting our governments do the job. It is an interesting topic about humanitarian aid. However, I understand that due to the time constrain and we still had our guest presenters to deliver their presentation, it was not possible.
I would rate the lesson an 8/10, as it is the 2nd lesson and I've gotten used to the style of Prof's lesson, it is not so overwhelming anymore. I'm pretty happy that I broke out of my own shell by raising my hands to provide some of my own opinions in class yesterday. I realised that preparing for the Individual Oral Presentation is not easy, and I applaud the 4 of them who did so well yesterday. I'm doing mine next week, so please have mercy class!
We started the Individual Oral Presentations by our guest star speakers. 4 brave souls came up to do great presentations. First was by Ellen, on Americanization. Second was by Benji on Internet Addiction, followed by Prema on The Capability Approach, and lastly Agriculture by Nickolas.
I felt that one of the most interesting part of the lesson, apart from the presentations, was the video that Prof let us watch on globalization. Why is it that big corporations like Nike and Gap for example, produce so much cargo, earn so much profits, but yet pay their workers pittance. Although some may say that globalization is actually helpful to the workers, rather than being unemployed. In most cases, they are already grateful for having a job, despite the low pay. However, I am against the fact that big stars are paid so much just to advertise the brand, but yet the wages of the workers cannot be increased. Not only the advertisers are highly paid, even the managers of such companies are earning millions.
I was exposed to the MDG-Millenium Development Goals, which is basically 8 goals that the world wants to fulfil by 2015. They are:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality rate
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development
If these goals are achieved by 2015, the world would definitely be a much better places. However, with what we are doing now, is the target dateline plausible? So many children all over the world are still dying of starvation, mothers are dying from childbirth due to poor sanitation..but what are the rest of the world doing? People are wasting resources in developed countries, they are taking advantage of the bountiful riches their land bestowed upon them. Upon seeing the video, hearing of so many deaths across the world, I really want to help them, I really wish that the world, the UN will do a little more. These people do not deserve to die, they still have a future. ):
The key takeaway message I got from the lesson was once again Prof's message at the back of the SR. "Change is inevitable and often neccesary; the transition process can often be difficult and painful (for some)."
Development=change and vice versa? Or do they not mean the same thing. Change is indeed inevitable. Things have been changing since the stone age, or rather, even before the stone age. We have changed from the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and now Neolithic periods. We are changing everyday. Technology changes everyday; Change happens, whether we want it to or not. For without change, we will still be stuck back in time, in our own little bubble of sticks and wood to make fire.
I felt that we could discuss more about the MDG, and how we can help to achieve them rather than sitting back and letting our governments do the job. It is an interesting topic about humanitarian aid. However, I understand that due to the time constrain and we still had our guest presenters to deliver their presentation, it was not possible.
I would rate the lesson an 8/10, as it is the 2nd lesson and I've gotten used to the style of Prof's lesson, it is not so overwhelming anymore. I'm pretty happy that I broke out of my own shell by raising my hands to provide some of my own opinions in class yesterday. I realised that preparing for the Individual Oral Presentation is not easy, and I applaud the 4 of them who did so well yesterday. I'm doing mine next week, so please have mercy class!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Lesson #1 Technology and the Rise of Civilizations
First TWC lesson with Prof Shahi today was really insightful. We covered the topic on 'Technology and the Rise of Civilizations: Historical Timeline and Technology "Revolutions"'. Prof showed us a video, a part from Guns, Germs and Steel. The famous quote from Yali, "Why do white men like you have so much cargo, but we New Guineans have so little?" got me thinking, how unfair the world is. Afterall like what Prof said, technology started from the Middle East, not China, not India, and definitely not America. However, it is the Americans that are living the more luxurious life thanks to technology. How do we answer Yali's question? That is one global conumdrum that nobody has yet address, or if people had, the problem has yet to be solved.
Prof also showed us the picture of evolution, how an ape evolved to man, and eventually an obese guy. That topic sparked more discussion, and I like what some of my classmates mentioned, about how it is not technology that is at fault to our obesity rate or laziness meter. However, it is ultimately still on the individual's mindset and resolution to not allow technology to takeover and control us.
My greatest takeaway from today's lesson-Prof's quote at the back of the class: "TECHNOLOGY IS EASY. PEOPLE ARE HARD". I like this quote.
I am particularly interested about what Jared Diamond's book and video on Guns, Germs and Steel has in store for us. Perhaps more discussion on that would be great, and we could all find an answer to Yali's thought-provoking question together. Sad as it may be, it is true that biasness and racism still exist in this world.
I would rate today's lesson a 7/10. Perhaps because it is my first day at school, and I didn't expect the workload to be like that, I was a little overwhelmed. However, I realised that Prof is really knowledgeable, TWC has so many interesting things to read and videos to watch and my classmates introduced reasonable and intriguing ideas to the class which made lesson more fun!
Prof also showed us the picture of evolution, how an ape evolved to man, and eventually an obese guy. That topic sparked more discussion, and I like what some of my classmates mentioned, about how it is not technology that is at fault to our obesity rate or laziness meter. However, it is ultimately still on the individual's mindset and resolution to not allow technology to takeover and control us.
My greatest takeaway from today's lesson-Prof's quote at the back of the class: "TECHNOLOGY IS EASY. PEOPLE ARE HARD". I like this quote.
I am particularly interested about what Jared Diamond's book and video on Guns, Germs and Steel has in store for us. Perhaps more discussion on that would be great, and we could all find an answer to Yali's thought-provoking question together. Sad as it may be, it is true that biasness and racism still exist in this world.
I would rate today's lesson a 7/10. Perhaps because it is my first day at school, and I didn't expect the workload to be like that, I was a little overwhelmed. However, I realised that Prof is really knowledgeable, TWC has so many interesting things to read and videos to watch and my classmates introduced reasonable and intriguing ideas to the class which made lesson more fun!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)