"My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there." -Charles Kettering-
This quote holds much truth, in the sense that where else can we spend our lives besides the present and the future? We can't stay holed up in the past that is for sure. However, dealing with the future is a tricky situation, there is much uncertainty in the future. Building security is vital, in all aspects like healthcare and sustainable infrastructures. Benjamin Franklin once said: "Look before, or you'll find yourself behind". Imagination is the only limitation, and our capabilities are so much more, if we would just tap deeper into it.
So many people have come up with ideas for the future; GPS embedded into our bodies, controlling devices with our minds, augmented reality as mentioned in previous post and so many more! Lives will be made so much more convenient, with greater access and innovations to spur our lives to greater heights. We can be more eco-friendly with e-papers and nanotechnologies, that allows us just ONE equipment that can last us forever. For example, one electronic newspaper, which news can change by itself everyday, or every minute. With the use of augmented reality, we can diss brochures and fliers already, as the device in our hands can tell us much more infomation required about the unknown object.
This is a video of a parody of Microsoft vision of the future:
The whole idea that has been incorporated in us since day one of this course: To be a change leader. I too believe that empires of the future..are empires of the dream. I sourced YouTube and found this video below, which has tonnes of pictures about visions of the future-the new types of vehicles, buildings and infrastructures, planes and nanotech-strips, technology about DNA and bionic motions. Take a look!
Presentation One was on Ethical Technology Assessment by Hannah
Presentation Two was by Bryan, whose slides were pretty interesting.
Hannah came up with a checklist approach to ethics:
Dissemination and Use of Information
Control, Influence and Power
Impact on Social Contact Patterns
Privacy
Sustainability
Human Reproduction
Gender, Minorities and Justice
International Relations
Impact on Human Values
A point was made in class about the privacy issue. Some harp so much on privacy, when they have no qualms about putting up their own personal issues on Facebook and their blogs. However, when this invasion of personal space is brought to another level, when the 'publicising' of personal infomation is not voluntary, then it is a violation of privacy rights.
Tools to assess technology is also crucial, but the concepts and basis of it is far more important. The basis forms the foundation and provides the route to our future, which is the key to it all before we even use tools.
I would rate today's lesson a seven. Future technology sure is interesting and can confound us at times, but yet intrigue us much more. However, assessing future technology can kind of bore us to certain extent, as we are always much more interested in dreaming about whats possible, than whats probable. To end it off, heres another video I found, that is on Siemen's Limitless Possibilities.
The future is in our hands; it is for our future generations to reap or to wreck. We can keep on dreaming, but dreaming will take us only so far. We have to incorporate our dreams with tools to access and assess these dreams and technologies that can take us higher and further. Change is accelerating exponentially, we have to continually change our mindset and adapt to changes before we get left behind.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Lesson #9 Emerging and Future Technologies
George Bernard Shaw once said this: "You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?" Certainly, curiosity is the key to our vast and limitless innovations; children are perpetualy curious, asking the simplest question "why?". However, what Shaw is trying to say is that, instead of questioning the existence of things, why not ponder about things that aren't here yet? That is probably the main root to how things came about in the first place, and can also be applied to future technologies, things that will will change our way of life permanently.
Prof's quote of the day:
"In terms of the development and application of new and emerging technologies, we are limited only by our imagination-and, all too often, the lack thereof." -Gurinder Shahi-
Today's topic of emerging and future technology is one that interest I would say, the mass population. After all, who doesn't enjoy a dosage of day dreaming and letting their imaginations run wild? The future is ours to make, future tech holds such great potential for us to tap into. Just think back of how much our world has changed since the Neolithic times, from carvings to paper to the computer to smart phones. Now there will be a whole new realm of claytronics, virtual reality and even augmented reality.
As today's topic is on future technologies, and the future is hard to predict much less describe in words, I shall post more videos, as a picture paints a thousand words, imagine how many more words can a video speak of. I was 'youtube hopping' and found several interesting videos of future tech, none that was discussed in class. Take a look at this 'Computers of the Future' video, this technology is really cool and would make laptops and ipads seem redundant and bulky and impractical if such technology really existed.
Today's reading 4 was pretty interesting, about the Ten Most Important Emerging Technologies for Humanity.
#1 The Global Electronic Library (A Global Electronic Library would combine all the available knowledge on the planet -- all books, periodicals, newsletters, journals, newspapers, web pages, spoken word, and more -- into a single, searchable resource available to everyone on the planet.)
#2 Hydrogen Economy Enablers (By shifting to a hydrogen economy, we will solve a long list of problems resulting from the oil economy while creating a cleaner and more productive society.)
#3 Augmented Reality (Like many technologies, augmented reality holds both tremendous creative potential and a truly horrifying potential for abuse. Augmented reality can either enslave the world, or it can set it free)
#4 Practical Robots (Practical robots can greatly enhance our collective quality of life by freeing us from daily labors, serving as true companions and multiplying the realization of our creativity and intentions)
#5 High-Density Portable Power (Today’s chemical batteries are holding back promising applications for emerging technologies, and only a breakthrough in portable power can overcome those limitations)
#6 Fuel Cell Vehicles (Fuel cell vehicles hold the promise to clean up our cities, halt the chronic disease caused by air pollution, slow global warming and once again make personal transportation an enjoyment rather than a burden on society.)
#7 Genetic Engineering of Humans (With the proper technology, maturity and ethics, we could accomplish tremendous outcomes through genetic engineering.)
#8 Computer/Human Interface Systems (Breakthroughs in computer / human interface technologies will multiply the speed of personal computing, eventually approaching the speed of thought.)
#9 Vibrational Medicine (Vibrational medicine is the future of healing. While the eras of physical and chemical medicine are now fading, vibrational medicine is emerging as a far superior model for accelerating healing in patients everywhere.)
#10 Superlearning Systems (Superlearning systems will allow our civilization to take a quantum leap in the transfer of knowledge and wisdom to each successive generation.)
We had 5 presentors enlightening us on future tech today:
Presentation #1: Electronic Paper-Changing the Way we work by Yi Rong
Presentation #2: Touch Technology by Shuna
Presentation #3: Future of Biometrics in Enhancing Security by Darren
Presentation #4: Gaming as an emerging technology by Rebecca
Presentation #5: Smart Cards by Peiting
Shuna's presentation on touch technology was pretty interesting, she mentioned that in our world today, everything is gradually becoming touch screen. Majority of the population own some form of touchscreen device, be it iPhones, iTouch or even normal phones like Samsung. The QWERTY keypad days are more or less losing its phase. Even the newer malls like ION, its shopping directory is touchscreen, instead of the traditional board with all the info chucked onto it, and people scrutinizing the small words carefully to look for one shop. The touchscreen directory at ION makes our lives so much easier, as we can easily source for the shop we're looking for.
I found these 2 videos on youtube, they are ads on blackberry and apple that never came out on TV. They are pretty funny, just showing how the blackberry phone wants to take apple products like the iPhone out of the market, and apple's strategy to fight back. It is humorous as they make use of the blackberry and apple fruits literally.
Future technologies are really fascinating as we never know what the future entails for us. Who knows, 10 years down the road, we will all be using touch screen for everything, user interfaces and virtual reality; books will be replaced by electronic paper etc; the gaming technology that Rebecca showed us in her presentation will exist, and takes over playstation, xbox and even wii. That concept was really really awesome, as it allows you to play games at anytime, without a remote. All you have to do is stand in front of the screen, let it scan your data, and you can play anything, as though it is real. Our lives would really change by then.
However, on second thoughts, all these talks about future technology..none of these are in line with what we have been talking about the past weeks, about helping the developing countries catch up with the rest of the world in this global technology rat race. None of this talks about sustainable development. None of this assures us that the environment will not be harmed at the same time, that it will not widen the poverty cycle and inaccesibility cycle. Technology and World Change, Technology is rising, yes that is definite. What about the part about World Change? Is it on the rise too? Yes, only to certain parts of the world, that have the capital to allow such changes. Food for thought I guess, are we progressing in the right way? Will these changes benefit the poor, or is it only for our convenience, to make lives better for us, without giving two hoots about those elsewhere? Personally, much as I think these future technologies are really great and interesting, and would love to get my hands on one of these, I still stand for my grounds on sustainable development and helping the developing countries get back on this global technology race first. I feel that solving the issues of hunger and poverty elsewhere takes precedence over additional convenience in our already-very-convenient lives.
I would rate today's lesson a 8/10 as future technology is one very interesting topic, and the videos watched today were really an eye opener. I will definitely watch out for these gadgets and changes in the years to come. Hopefully, they will emerge within the next 50 years, so that my generation and I can still live to witness such changes. I feel that my generation is already lucky enough to be in the midst of change from the pager-era to smart phones-era, who knows we might live to be in the midst of paper-era to e-paper-era too!
Prof's quote of the day:
"In terms of the development and application of new and emerging technologies, we are limited only by our imagination-and, all too often, the lack thereof." -Gurinder Shahi-
Today's topic of emerging and future technology is one that interest I would say, the mass population. After all, who doesn't enjoy a dosage of day dreaming and letting their imaginations run wild? The future is ours to make, future tech holds such great potential for us to tap into. Just think back of how much our world has changed since the Neolithic times, from carvings to paper to the computer to smart phones. Now there will be a whole new realm of claytronics, virtual reality and even augmented reality.
As today's topic is on future technologies, and the future is hard to predict much less describe in words, I shall post more videos, as a picture paints a thousand words, imagine how many more words can a video speak of. I was 'youtube hopping' and found several interesting videos of future tech, none that was discussed in class. Take a look at this 'Computers of the Future' video, this technology is really cool and would make laptops and ipads seem redundant and bulky and impractical if such technology really existed.
Today's reading 4 was pretty interesting, about the Ten Most Important Emerging Technologies for Humanity.
#1 The Global Electronic Library (A Global Electronic Library would combine all the available knowledge on the planet -- all books, periodicals, newsletters, journals, newspapers, web pages, spoken word, and more -- into a single, searchable resource available to everyone on the planet.)
#2 Hydrogen Economy Enablers (By shifting to a hydrogen economy, we will solve a long list of problems resulting from the oil economy while creating a cleaner and more productive society.)
#3 Augmented Reality (Like many technologies, augmented reality holds both tremendous creative potential and a truly horrifying potential for abuse. Augmented reality can either enslave the world, or it can set it free)
#4 Practical Robots (Practical robots can greatly enhance our collective quality of life by freeing us from daily labors, serving as true companions and multiplying the realization of our creativity and intentions)
#5 High-Density Portable Power (Today’s chemical batteries are holding back promising applications for emerging technologies, and only a breakthrough in portable power can overcome those limitations)
#6 Fuel Cell Vehicles (Fuel cell vehicles hold the promise to clean up our cities, halt the chronic disease caused by air pollution, slow global warming and once again make personal transportation an enjoyment rather than a burden on society.)
#7 Genetic Engineering of Humans (With the proper technology, maturity and ethics, we could accomplish tremendous outcomes through genetic engineering.)
#8 Computer/Human Interface Systems (Breakthroughs in computer / human interface technologies will multiply the speed of personal computing, eventually approaching the speed of thought.)
#9 Vibrational Medicine (Vibrational medicine is the future of healing. While the eras of physical and chemical medicine are now fading, vibrational medicine is emerging as a far superior model for accelerating healing in patients everywhere.)
#10 Superlearning Systems (Superlearning systems will allow our civilization to take a quantum leap in the transfer of knowledge and wisdom to each successive generation.)
We had 5 presentors enlightening us on future tech today:
Presentation #1: Electronic Paper-Changing the Way we work by Yi Rong
Presentation #2: Touch Technology by Shuna
Presentation #3: Future of Biometrics in Enhancing Security by Darren
Presentation #4: Gaming as an emerging technology by Rebecca
Presentation #5: Smart Cards by Peiting
Shuna's presentation on touch technology was pretty interesting, she mentioned that in our world today, everything is gradually becoming touch screen. Majority of the population own some form of touchscreen device, be it iPhones, iTouch or even normal phones like Samsung. The QWERTY keypad days are more or less losing its phase. Even the newer malls like ION, its shopping directory is touchscreen, instead of the traditional board with all the info chucked onto it, and people scrutinizing the small words carefully to look for one shop. The touchscreen directory at ION makes our lives so much easier, as we can easily source for the shop we're looking for.
I found these 2 videos on youtube, they are ads on blackberry and apple that never came out on TV. They are pretty funny, just showing how the blackberry phone wants to take apple products like the iPhone out of the market, and apple's strategy to fight back. It is humorous as they make use of the blackberry and apple fruits literally.
Future technologies are really fascinating as we never know what the future entails for us. Who knows, 10 years down the road, we will all be using touch screen for everything, user interfaces and virtual reality; books will be replaced by electronic paper etc; the gaming technology that Rebecca showed us in her presentation will exist, and takes over playstation, xbox and even wii. That concept was really really awesome, as it allows you to play games at anytime, without a remote. All you have to do is stand in front of the screen, let it scan your data, and you can play anything, as though it is real. Our lives would really change by then.
However, on second thoughts, all these talks about future technology..none of these are in line with what we have been talking about the past weeks, about helping the developing countries catch up with the rest of the world in this global technology rat race. None of this talks about sustainable development. None of this assures us that the environment will not be harmed at the same time, that it will not widen the poverty cycle and inaccesibility cycle. Technology and World Change, Technology is rising, yes that is definite. What about the part about World Change? Is it on the rise too? Yes, only to certain parts of the world, that have the capital to allow such changes. Food for thought I guess, are we progressing in the right way? Will these changes benefit the poor, or is it only for our convenience, to make lives better for us, without giving two hoots about those elsewhere? Personally, much as I think these future technologies are really great and interesting, and would love to get my hands on one of these, I still stand for my grounds on sustainable development and helping the developing countries get back on this global technology race first. I feel that solving the issues of hunger and poverty elsewhere takes precedence over additional convenience in our already-very-convenient lives.
I would rate today's lesson a 8/10 as future technology is one very interesting topic, and the videos watched today were really an eye opener. I will definitely watch out for these gadgets and changes in the years to come. Hopefully, they will emerge within the next 50 years, so that my generation and I can still live to witness such changes. I feel that my generation is already lucky enough to be in the midst of change from the pager-era to smart phones-era, who knows we might live to be in the midst of paper-era to e-paper-era too!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Lesson #8 Energy and World Change: Past, Present, Future
Al Gore once said in his speech in 2008, "We can't negotiate the facts. We can't negotiate the truth about the situation. And for those who are too fearful to finish, it can be done and must be done. Make sure we succeed,...It is wrong for this generation to destroy the habitability of our planet and ruin the prospects of every future generation."
I watched the show 'The Inconvenient Truth', which is basically about him, Al Gore, talking about global warming, and how we need to start finding sustainable resources for our planet, and what is being done and so on. I find it a really interesting show, and his points are clear and well planned. Moreover, he is an amazing speaker too. Today's topic covers the aspect of Energy and World Change. Our resources are being depleted at a fast rate, much quicker than they can be grown again, hence the term 'non-renewable'. Like what Al Gore said in his quote above, it is our responsibility to make this planet sustainable not only for us, but for the future generations as well. We do not owN this planet, neither does the planet owE us. The onus is on us, especially our generation to think up of new inventions, new methods to renew resources such that they are sustainable. Gone are the days of traditional biomass energies, but instead newer ones like modern bioenergy are taking over. Not only is it burning of wood and coal, we now turn to gasification and hydrolysis and many others. Incorporating new technologies into olden methods, a good sign of improvement I reckon.
Once more, Prof's quote for today: "The days of fossil fuels are numbered. Renewable energy will drive the Green Revolution." I agree with him on this, as I feel that the world is also becoming more globally aware. Besides the implementation of the MDG, there is also the Kyoto Protocol and many countries are urging their people to start recycling and using less energy/stop wasting resources.
Video: Animation: Climate change, energy & action
This video is an interesting one which shows animation of how much energy we are consuming and how it hurts the earth, until we go green, which the colours will then change from red to green, and the animated buildings will smile. It is a simple yet powerful message being sent out. Another video below is about how Germany started tapping into renewable energy resources. Although I feel that this is an extremely good and efficient method, and that it will work really well in Singapore I can foresee, as Singapore is near the equator, we have sunshine all year round, solar panels are a good investment. However there are also limitations to it-Singapore lacks the land to install solar panels on open areas like farms etc, just like Germany in the video. Countries like Germany have much more land, and more landed properties, hence each house can have a solar panel on its roof. However, Singapore is mainly high rise buildings and HDB flats, thus the number of houses to install solar panels on are limited in that sense already. Moreover, I feel that it is pretty unsightly to have solar panels paving our streets everywhere. We are supposed to be a green city, I guess the literal meaning of green as in plants and trees, and not environmentally friendly 'green'.
One of the readings mentioned that solar energy is most widely available, as compared to wind and biomass etc. If we were to use the same policy as Germany government, using monetary incentives to encourage people to install solar panels on their roof, this would firstly be a great start in getting the countrymen involved. The onus isn't on the researchers or the govenrment alone, everyone should play a part in this as long as we stay on this planet.
We had 5 presenters today:
The Nine Challenges of Alternative Energy by Randy
Fusion Energy by Sweeney
Nuclear Energy, a better Alternative Energy for the World? by Thiha
Selecting your Energy Source by Marvin
Carbon Capture and Recyling by Patrick
I felt that Randy's presentation on the nine challenges was pretty good, he even came up with abbreviations for us to remember them by: TWC SMILE E. Patrick's slides were really cool, I just started using Prezi not long ago too, and it can do so much more than Powerpoint. Anyway, his topic on CCR was interesting, about how car exhaust fumes can be instantly recycled to be used as fuel to power the car, so its a close loop process.
All in all, I thought today's topic is one that is being discussed globally, and is a hot topic given our current state of the rate we're comsuming resources. I am all for using renewable energies like wind, solar, wave, hydroelectric powers etc. I would rate today's lesson an 8 out of 10, as this topic is widely relevant to our society and our life.
I watched the show 'The Inconvenient Truth', which is basically about him, Al Gore, talking about global warming, and how we need to start finding sustainable resources for our planet, and what is being done and so on. I find it a really interesting show, and his points are clear and well planned. Moreover, he is an amazing speaker too. Today's topic covers the aspect of Energy and World Change. Our resources are being depleted at a fast rate, much quicker than they can be grown again, hence the term 'non-renewable'. Like what Al Gore said in his quote above, it is our responsibility to make this planet sustainable not only for us, but for the future generations as well. We do not owN this planet, neither does the planet owE us. The onus is on us, especially our generation to think up of new inventions, new methods to renew resources such that they are sustainable. Gone are the days of traditional biomass energies, but instead newer ones like modern bioenergy are taking over. Not only is it burning of wood and coal, we now turn to gasification and hydrolysis and many others. Incorporating new technologies into olden methods, a good sign of improvement I reckon.
Once more, Prof's quote for today: "The days of fossil fuels are numbered. Renewable energy will drive the Green Revolution." I agree with him on this, as I feel that the world is also becoming more globally aware. Besides the implementation of the MDG, there is also the Kyoto Protocol and many countries are urging their people to start recycling and using less energy/stop wasting resources.
Video: Animation: Climate change, energy & action
This video is an interesting one which shows animation of how much energy we are consuming and how it hurts the earth, until we go green, which the colours will then change from red to green, and the animated buildings will smile. It is a simple yet powerful message being sent out. Another video below is about how Germany started tapping into renewable energy resources. Although I feel that this is an extremely good and efficient method, and that it will work really well in Singapore I can foresee, as Singapore is near the equator, we have sunshine all year round, solar panels are a good investment. However there are also limitations to it-Singapore lacks the land to install solar panels on open areas like farms etc, just like Germany in the video. Countries like Germany have much more land, and more landed properties, hence each house can have a solar panel on its roof. However, Singapore is mainly high rise buildings and HDB flats, thus the number of houses to install solar panels on are limited in that sense already. Moreover, I feel that it is pretty unsightly to have solar panels paving our streets everywhere. We are supposed to be a green city, I guess the literal meaning of green as in plants and trees, and not environmentally friendly 'green'.
One of the readings mentioned that solar energy is most widely available, as compared to wind and biomass etc. If we were to use the same policy as Germany government, using monetary incentives to encourage people to install solar panels on their roof, this would firstly be a great start in getting the countrymen involved. The onus isn't on the researchers or the govenrment alone, everyone should play a part in this as long as we stay on this planet.
We had 5 presenters today:
The Nine Challenges of Alternative Energy by Randy
Fusion Energy by Sweeney
Nuclear Energy, a better Alternative Energy for the World? by Thiha
Selecting your Energy Source by Marvin
Carbon Capture and Recyling by Patrick
I felt that Randy's presentation on the nine challenges was pretty good, he even came up with abbreviations for us to remember them by: TWC SMILE E. Patrick's slides were really cool, I just started using Prezi not long ago too, and it can do so much more than Powerpoint. Anyway, his topic on CCR was interesting, about how car exhaust fumes can be instantly recycled to be used as fuel to power the car, so its a close loop process.
All in all, I thought today's topic is one that is being discussed globally, and is a hot topic given our current state of the rate we're comsuming resources. I am all for using renewable energies like wind, solar, wave, hydroelectric powers etc. I would rate today's lesson an 8 out of 10, as this topic is widely relevant to our society and our life.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Lesson #7 The BioBusiness Revolution 2: Agriculture and the Environment: Past, Present, Future
"There is enough on this planet for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed."
This was a quote by Mahatma Gandhi, on food sustainability on earth. The rich has the money and accessibility to over consume, whereas those in poorer countries lack the ability to do so. Most would be grateful for just a bowl of plain rice, whereas people like us these days, are complaining about the quality of food. Should it be our time to complain when there are still people in some corners of the world facing starvation? I see people talking about this issue all the time, like during meal times when there is food wastage, someone would pipe up: "Finish your food, the children in Africa are starving." However, how much of these 'talks' are actually being transformed into action? This brings me to the point of today's topic. The biobusiness Revolution pertaining to agriculture. Last week we talked about the medical aspect of things, this week would be on agriculture. Biobusiness has impacted agriculture through genetically modified (GM) food, a.k.a genetically modified organisms (GMO). To me there are 2 sorts of GM food. One is the type that we're eating all the time, for example bread wheat is a hybrid of 3 genomes, which came about long before human started artificially modifying them. Another type would be what the scientists are trying to do these days, picking out the gene of a durian and putting it into a papaya for instance. I don't know exactly what kind of new GMO are they trying to put together, but I know for sure after today's class, that it is not widely welcomed yet.
From today's class, I learned that the biobusiness has different colour codes! Red biotechnology is the biomedical side of things. White biotechnology is the industrial part. Green biotechnology is the environment and how we clean it up, make it sustainable. And lastly, blue biotechnology is with regards to the marine life.
When we are able to grow the resources we need, we will finally be on the road to sustainability.
-Gurinder Shahi
Another day's quote on the board at the back of the class by Prof. He went on to have a discussion with us about having bioplastics, which are biodegradable, and having our furniture made from renewable resources etc. This is what he would really call 'sustainability'. A really cool idea that I thought Prof came up with would be having a personal bio-reactor in everyone's house. All our waste products like the peeled skins of potatoes, bananas and even plastic bags used to contain sandwiches, if they could generate energy for our homes and cars after being put into the bio-reactor, how great would that be! It is such a good way to clear the garbage rather than having it incinerated and polluting the air with soot and carbon.
We then watched some videos in class:
Video 1: Norman Borlaug on Agribiotechology and the Environment. This man wrote an article too about World Hunger, which was one of our readings for this seminar. In his video, he mentioned a line that I remembered :"There are a lot of dormant crop land that can be put to use." In essence, I think he meant that we are wasting a lot of land, when they could be use for farming and growing more food!
The 2nd video was by a Green revolution leader, and the 3rd video which I found particularly insightful, about Industrial Enzymes and Biotechnology. I learnt that enzymes are prevalent everywhere in our lives, our homes etc. It is naturally occurring and biodegradable, and it can replace synthetic chemicals in many things. Prof enlightened me, he said that in the past, people used papaya skins to treat wounds, as the enzymes on the papaya skin can cure infections. Here's the video:
The term bioremediation is a pretty cool term, with good meaning. I mean that it is good because it doesn't do anything harmful to the earth or the environment, but instead helps it. Bioremediation, by definition, is the process that uses microorganisms, fungi, green plants or their enzymes to return the natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition.
Next we moved on the presentations of the day.
Presentation 1: Grace on biofuels like cellulosic and algal.
Presentation 2: Cherrie on saving corals and fisheries
Presentation 3: Annabel on food and water security
Presentation 4: Melina on genetically modified food
Presentation 5: Daryl on transnational biotech companies colonise the food chain
Cherrie's presentation caught my attention, as it was about coral reef and marine life. Having been diving once recently, I took great interest in the coral reef and I think it is a great pity that corals are dying. Seeing bleached corals really makes me sad. Corals beautify the place and makes the sea home to the underwater creatures. So she talked about conserving them by introducing the idea of BioRock. We should all aim to protect corals and marine life. Being underwater is a luxury like no others, and it is just a whole new world out there!
I would rate today's lesson 9/10. The presentations were interesting, I learned a lot from my classmates today about GM food and biofuels etc. One thing I took away for sure is that now I know that all of us are eating GM food almost everyday! Like the food that Prof likes to eat, and we all do too actually, coca cola and nacho chips are all genetically modified! That's all I have to say for today. Till after the break!
This was a quote by Mahatma Gandhi, on food sustainability on earth. The rich has the money and accessibility to over consume, whereas those in poorer countries lack the ability to do so. Most would be grateful for just a bowl of plain rice, whereas people like us these days, are complaining about the quality of food. Should it be our time to complain when there are still people in some corners of the world facing starvation? I see people talking about this issue all the time, like during meal times when there is food wastage, someone would pipe up: "Finish your food, the children in Africa are starving." However, how much of these 'talks' are actually being transformed into action? This brings me to the point of today's topic. The biobusiness Revolution pertaining to agriculture. Last week we talked about the medical aspect of things, this week would be on agriculture. Biobusiness has impacted agriculture through genetically modified (GM) food, a.k.a genetically modified organisms (GMO). To me there are 2 sorts of GM food. One is the type that we're eating all the time, for example bread wheat is a hybrid of 3 genomes, which came about long before human started artificially modifying them. Another type would be what the scientists are trying to do these days, picking out the gene of a durian and putting it into a papaya for instance. I don't know exactly what kind of new GMO are they trying to put together, but I know for sure after today's class, that it is not widely welcomed yet.
From today's class, I learned that the biobusiness has different colour codes! Red biotechnology is the biomedical side of things. White biotechnology is the industrial part. Green biotechnology is the environment and how we clean it up, make it sustainable. And lastly, blue biotechnology is with regards to the marine life.
When we are able to grow the resources we need, we will finally be on the road to sustainability.
-Gurinder Shahi
Another day's quote on the board at the back of the class by Prof. He went on to have a discussion with us about having bioplastics, which are biodegradable, and having our furniture made from renewable resources etc. This is what he would really call 'sustainability'. A really cool idea that I thought Prof came up with would be having a personal bio-reactor in everyone's house. All our waste products like the peeled skins of potatoes, bananas and even plastic bags used to contain sandwiches, if they could generate energy for our homes and cars after being put into the bio-reactor, how great would that be! It is such a good way to clear the garbage rather than having it incinerated and polluting the air with soot and carbon.
We then watched some videos in class:
Video 1: Norman Borlaug on Agribiotechology and the Environment. This man wrote an article too about World Hunger, which was one of our readings for this seminar. In his video, he mentioned a line that I remembered :"There are a lot of dormant crop land that can be put to use." In essence, I think he meant that we are wasting a lot of land, when they could be use for farming and growing more food!
The 2nd video was by a Green revolution leader, and the 3rd video which I found particularly insightful, about Industrial Enzymes and Biotechnology. I learnt that enzymes are prevalent everywhere in our lives, our homes etc. It is naturally occurring and biodegradable, and it can replace synthetic chemicals in many things. Prof enlightened me, he said that in the past, people used papaya skins to treat wounds, as the enzymes on the papaya skin can cure infections. Here's the video:
The term bioremediation is a pretty cool term, with good meaning. I mean that it is good because it doesn't do anything harmful to the earth or the environment, but instead helps it. Bioremediation, by definition, is the process that uses microorganisms, fungi, green plants or their enzymes to return the natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition.
Next we moved on the presentations of the day.
Presentation 1: Grace on biofuels like cellulosic and algal.
Presentation 2: Cherrie on saving corals and fisheries
Presentation 3: Annabel on food and water security
Presentation 4: Melina on genetically modified food
Presentation 5: Daryl on transnational biotech companies colonise the food chain
Cherrie's presentation caught my attention, as it was about coral reef and marine life. Having been diving once recently, I took great interest in the coral reef and I think it is a great pity that corals are dying. Seeing bleached corals really makes me sad. Corals beautify the place and makes the sea home to the underwater creatures. So she talked about conserving them by introducing the idea of BioRock. We should all aim to protect corals and marine life. Being underwater is a luxury like no others, and it is just a whole new world out there!
I would rate today's lesson 9/10. The presentations were interesting, I learned a lot from my classmates today about GM food and biofuels etc. One thing I took away for sure is that now I know that all of us are eating GM food almost everyday! Like the food that Prof likes to eat, and we all do too actually, coca cola and nacho chips are all genetically modified! That's all I have to say for today. Till after the break!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Lesson #6 The BioBusiness Revolution 1: Healthcare and the Biomedical Sciences: Past, Present, Future
1. The BioBusiness Revolution has the potential to WILL transform our lives (our health, our food, our clothes, our energy sources etc.) and our economies.
Definitely, I will agree with this statement put up on the board by Prof. It is afterall a revolution, like the Industrial Revolution. As the term suggest, revolution is s a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.
2. BioBusiness may well be our best hope for achieving sustainable development.
This is yet another phrase from Prof. As we talked about in earlier seminars, sustainable development is what we're all aiming to achieve now.
There are 4 main biobusiness: the biomedical biobusiness, the agri-veterinary and food biobusiness, environmental and industrial biobusiness and other biobusiness activities.
We had 3 presentations today:
First was by Qi Yang on Medical Tourism, whether or not medical tourism is actually helping or harming those in the developing countries. Next was by Cheng Wei on Surgery without the slicing; he talked about NOTES, a new method of surgery, other than open surgery and laproscopic surgery. I found this particularly interesting, as it gave me a whole new insight on the medical industry. There was also a short discussion about doctors' ethics, whether or not they are out for money or really for the purpose of saving lives. Lastly, we had Kai Liang talking about Beyond Philantrophy, and the healthcare scene in 3rd world countries, and the policies like pricing policy and patents.
We watched a video: Medical Revolutions
The biomedical sciences is evolving to such high-tech levels that such possibilities in the past may not seem realistic, but in actual fact, are coming true now. A discussion about cloning was fairly interesting to. Cloning, should it merely be used for medical issues or can it be used for social issues? This is a question of ethics once again. If a person or an animal dies, and it is cloned back using the same genetics, will it really be the same still? Away from this question of personal gains (like missing a person or a pet), what about cloning animals for food? Is it also ethical? To clone the dna, to get more cows for example, grow them and eat them? Apart from the fact that complications may occur and the product may not end up what it is supposed to be, but should we really do it, or do we leave it to nature. Cloning animals to solve our food shortage problems is not a real solution, I feel.
New vaccines and new medical technologies are rapidly on the rise, targeting the infectious and non-infectious diseases. Every second, a life may be lost in developing countries, but a new life could be given with the amount of research and the progress of medical inventions. This biobusiness industry is blooming all the time, the staggering pace is revolutionary. Advancements in the medical world really changes our lives, and my mindset of certain things. Like in the past, many things were thought to be impossible and even ridiculous. But now, at the rate we're progressing, there could possibly even be a cure for aids and cancer in the future!
Today's topic on biobusiness is a really broad topic, which we'll continue part 2 next lesson, more on agriculture. I would rate today's lesson a 7. I think more can be learned about biobusiness, especially the biomedical part and the life sciences part. Overall, lesson was good as usual. Thats it for Week 6! On to topical review paper and group project!
Definitely, I will agree with this statement put up on the board by Prof. It is afterall a revolution, like the Industrial Revolution. As the term suggest, revolution is s a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.
2. BioBusiness may well be our best hope for achieving sustainable development.
This is yet another phrase from Prof. As we talked about in earlier seminars, sustainable development is what we're all aiming to achieve now.
There are 4 main biobusiness: the biomedical biobusiness, the agri-veterinary and food biobusiness, environmental and industrial biobusiness and other biobusiness activities.
We had 3 presentations today:
First was by Qi Yang on Medical Tourism, whether or not medical tourism is actually helping or harming those in the developing countries. Next was by Cheng Wei on Surgery without the slicing; he talked about NOTES, a new method of surgery, other than open surgery and laproscopic surgery. I found this particularly interesting, as it gave me a whole new insight on the medical industry. There was also a short discussion about doctors' ethics, whether or not they are out for money or really for the purpose of saving lives. Lastly, we had Kai Liang talking about Beyond Philantrophy, and the healthcare scene in 3rd world countries, and the policies like pricing policy and patents.
We watched a video: Medical Revolutions
The biomedical sciences is evolving to such high-tech levels that such possibilities in the past may not seem realistic, but in actual fact, are coming true now. A discussion about cloning was fairly interesting to. Cloning, should it merely be used for medical issues or can it be used for social issues? This is a question of ethics once again. If a person or an animal dies, and it is cloned back using the same genetics, will it really be the same still? Away from this question of personal gains (like missing a person or a pet), what about cloning animals for food? Is it also ethical? To clone the dna, to get more cows for example, grow them and eat them? Apart from the fact that complications may occur and the product may not end up what it is supposed to be, but should we really do it, or do we leave it to nature. Cloning animals to solve our food shortage problems is not a real solution, I feel.
New vaccines and new medical technologies are rapidly on the rise, targeting the infectious and non-infectious diseases. Every second, a life may be lost in developing countries, but a new life could be given with the amount of research and the progress of medical inventions. This biobusiness industry is blooming all the time, the staggering pace is revolutionary. Advancements in the medical world really changes our lives, and my mindset of certain things. Like in the past, many things were thought to be impossible and even ridiculous. But now, at the rate we're progressing, there could possibly even be a cure for aids and cancer in the future!
Today's topic on biobusiness is a really broad topic, which we'll continue part 2 next lesson, more on agriculture. I would rate today's lesson a 7. I think more can be learned about biobusiness, especially the biomedical part and the life sciences part. Overall, lesson was good as usual. Thats it for Week 6! On to topical review paper and group project!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Lesson #5 ICT and World Change - Past, Present and Future
"ICT is the catalyst that facilitates the Knowledge Revolution"
-Prof Shahi
Today's topic was on ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and how it affects the world. I find this topic particularly fascinating as ICT is so rapidly changing today, and it is has become our main form of communication. Everywhere we go, ICT is prevalent. On the Networked Readiness Index, Singapore ranked 8 out of 75 countries! Our telecomunication technologies has risen to such a great extent that the usage of internet technology is so common. Everywhere on the streets, you see people of all ages, typing, or should I say tapping on their mobile devices furiously. And why do I use the word tapping? Our ordinary mobile phones have evolved. No longer do we use the buttons, now most of them are touch-screen. From Reading 2, I found the phrase 'Technology is easy, People are hard' as encountered in the 1st seminar. I learnt that ICT can help achieve one of the MDG, but it is near impossible to expect those goals to be achieved by 2015, which is like only 4.25 years from now. Not realistic, but I certainly wish for it to come true in the near future. ICT is transforming our world into a borderless one, and if we make it sustainable, it can connect everyone from different parts of the world, and eliminate the differences and the divide. National boundaries will not be so vast anymore, with the expansion of ICT.
We watched a video, which was also from our readings of the week. Project Natal Milo Demo-it is about a new technology that allows us to communicate with a virtual boy called Milo. Milo shares and understands all the emotions we are experiencing. It is realy cool how technology has progressed, and I find it pretty freaky to a slight extent, like how Milo received the drawing that Claire gave him, through some instant scanning. Here's the video!
Out of all the ICTs, like Mass Media, Internet, Gaming, Wireless Technologies, Interactive Telecommunications, Information Systems, Cloud Computing and Knowledge Management, I find cloud computing quite interesting. I don't really have much prior knowledge on it, but after researching, it proves to be something really interesting. 'Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, like the electricity grid.' according to Wikipedia. We then watched a video on the Web 3.0 about cloud computing, which provided much insights.
"Today's real borders are not between nations, but between powerful and powerless, free and fettered, privileged and humiliated." -Kofi Annan
I think that what Kofi Annan was referring to is the digital divide. The divide between those who have access to digital technology and those who do not. National boundaries are not the ones hindering our connection with the world. Instead, it is this divide that splits us up. Is is the same vicious cycle, the rich gets rich, while the poor gets poorer. In this case, those with original access to technology, gets even better and improved technology, while those developing countries with no access, remains with no access. They do not know about the iPod, iPhone, much less say the iPad.
We had 5 presenters today.
Tracy presented on ICT and its Impact on the Economy.
Xiong Wei presented on Wireless Technology.
Jonathan presented on Knowledge Management.
Raymond presented on User Interface.
Another Jonathan presented on Interpersonal Communcations.
These 5 presentations were really interesting and provided a great insight into these topics. User Interface is really cool actually, imagine if we could just utilise such technologies, the world will be such a convenient place. ICT really changes our lives, as Tracy compared for us, in the past, we progressed from letters to dial ups to smart phones and wireless technologies. Wireless technology is the main link that connects for example Singapore to the United States!
We had a short discussion about which is better, face-to-face interaction or communication via ICT. For me, I would definitely prefer face-to-face interaction as it is more personal and sincere. Through ICT, like instant messaging, online text or emails, miscommunications may arise if the words or emoticons are interpreted differently. However, I must admit that ICT has definitely made life much easier, in the sense that we can just send out a text message and do impromptu meetings, rather than having to dial up or walking over to arrange a meeting. I guess ICT has both its pros and cons-like all things do. I would like to hear more of my classmates' views on that, but due to time constraints, it was not possible. However, the short discussion was sufficient still.
I would rate this week's seminar 5 a 9/10 as I find this topic on ICT very interesting! I guess it is because of how it relates to us, like facebook skype etc. The new generation toys, in our world today.
-Prof Shahi
Today's topic was on ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and how it affects the world. I find this topic particularly fascinating as ICT is so rapidly changing today, and it is has become our main form of communication. Everywhere we go, ICT is prevalent. On the Networked Readiness Index, Singapore ranked 8 out of 75 countries! Our telecomunication technologies has risen to such a great extent that the usage of internet technology is so common. Everywhere on the streets, you see people of all ages, typing, or should I say tapping on their mobile devices furiously. And why do I use the word tapping? Our ordinary mobile phones have evolved. No longer do we use the buttons, now most of them are touch-screen. From Reading 2, I found the phrase 'Technology is easy, People are hard' as encountered in the 1st seminar. I learnt that ICT can help achieve one of the MDG, but it is near impossible to expect those goals to be achieved by 2015, which is like only 4.25 years from now. Not realistic, but I certainly wish for it to come true in the near future. ICT is transforming our world into a borderless one, and if we make it sustainable, it can connect everyone from different parts of the world, and eliminate the differences and the divide. National boundaries will not be so vast anymore, with the expansion of ICT.
We watched a video, which was also from our readings of the week. Project Natal Milo Demo-it is about a new technology that allows us to communicate with a virtual boy called Milo. Milo shares and understands all the emotions we are experiencing. It is realy cool how technology has progressed, and I find it pretty freaky to a slight extent, like how Milo received the drawing that Claire gave him, through some instant scanning. Here's the video!
Out of all the ICTs, like Mass Media, Internet, Gaming, Wireless Technologies, Interactive Telecommunications, Information Systems, Cloud Computing and Knowledge Management, I find cloud computing quite interesting. I don't really have much prior knowledge on it, but after researching, it proves to be something really interesting. 'Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, like the electricity grid.' according to Wikipedia. We then watched a video on the Web 3.0 about cloud computing, which provided much insights.
"Today's real borders are not between nations, but between powerful and powerless, free and fettered, privileged and humiliated." -Kofi Annan
I think that what Kofi Annan was referring to is the digital divide. The divide between those who have access to digital technology and those who do not. National boundaries are not the ones hindering our connection with the world. Instead, it is this divide that splits us up. Is is the same vicious cycle, the rich gets rich, while the poor gets poorer. In this case, those with original access to technology, gets even better and improved technology, while those developing countries with no access, remains with no access. They do not know about the iPod, iPhone, much less say the iPad.
We had 5 presenters today.
Tracy presented on ICT and its Impact on the Economy.
Xiong Wei presented on Wireless Technology.
Jonathan presented on Knowledge Management.
Raymond presented on User Interface.
Another Jonathan presented on Interpersonal Communcations.
These 5 presentations were really interesting and provided a great insight into these topics. User Interface is really cool actually, imagine if we could just utilise such technologies, the world will be such a convenient place. ICT really changes our lives, as Tracy compared for us, in the past, we progressed from letters to dial ups to smart phones and wireless technologies. Wireless technology is the main link that connects for example Singapore to the United States!
We had a short discussion about which is better, face-to-face interaction or communication via ICT. For me, I would definitely prefer face-to-face interaction as it is more personal and sincere. Through ICT, like instant messaging, online text or emails, miscommunications may arise if the words or emoticons are interpreted differently. However, I must admit that ICT has definitely made life much easier, in the sense that we can just send out a text message and do impromptu meetings, rather than having to dial up or walking over to arrange a meeting. I guess ICT has both its pros and cons-like all things do. I would like to hear more of my classmates' views on that, but due to time constraints, it was not possible. However, the short discussion was sufficient still.
I would rate this week's seminar 5 a 9/10 as I find this topic on ICT very interesting! I guess it is because of how it relates to us, like facebook skype etc. The new generation toys, in our world today.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Lesson #4 Drivers of World Change & Change Management and Change Leadership
Without continual growth and progress, words such as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. Today's session hit on the topic of drivers of world change and how to manage them.
"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be."
-John Wooden
Adaptability is one important step to success. Success in what? In this ever-changing world. When adapting to change, we must first dare to accept and try, without the fear of failing. As the quote says, its okay to fail, but failing to change is not okay. Drivers of world change include a whole range, like climate change, technology, governance etc.
This was written on the board once more in today's lesson:
There are essentially 3 ways to cope the change:
Option A: Make it happen
Option B: Respond when it happens
Option C: Be "surprised" when it happens
'A' makes the leader, by being proactive, one initiates the change. 'B' is for the reactor, who can adapt to the situation and in certain ways makes one the leader as well. 'C' is for the plain ignorant and blur sotong, who never knows what is going on, and can only fall behind further and further into a deep spiral.
First presenter was Kang Sheng on the 12 Pillars of Change. Followed by Nadia on NGOs and MNEs, and how NGOs should put MNCs in check by stepping in. Lastly for the first session was by Lucas on Web 2.0. After the break, Xun Kai presented on Positive Deviance, and Kai Lin on How Great Leaders get Results-the traditional role in management vs Ghosn's cross-functional approach.
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”
- George Bernard Shaw -
I feel that this quote pertains well to Xun Kai's presentation on Positive Deviance. To be the unreasonable man makes you the positive deviance. We need more of such positive deviances in the world to drive change. If everyone were to be a follower who follows blindly, then who do we have to lead us?
We then watched a video on this guy who started dancing like a fool in front of a big crowd. Everyone just watched him until the first brave soul stood up and joined him. His actions sparked off a whole change in the environment which ended up with everyone dancing together on a random day like that! It takes guts to be a leader, but it definitely takes more guts to be the first follower. Yes it is true that a leader needs guts to dare to step out and be that first guy to say 'I need to change things around here' (just like Xun Kai's Positive Deviance). However, it takes a big step for the first follower to dare to try out that new idea as well, without fearing failure or resistance from other potential followers.
The pessimism-time curve that prof showed us was pretty cool. It relates to our everyday life. For example in our first year in SMU, we get pretty excited about starting uni life for the first time-uninformed optimism. But when the projects start coming in that we hit the informed pessimism stage and we complain about SMU life and the workload. Then we come to the informed realism part where we decide that we have to embrace such changes in our life, for the sake of moving forward, getting a good GPA and hence career or future, and so we take it into our stride and move on. And finally, we get to completion.
In life, in society, in the world; we all go through changes. It is how we face it and manage it that counts. Whether or not we embrace changes, or we want to be the laggards and sceptics that only changes at the very end (when there is no other choice).
These are the two models we learnt today when a decision is made to change:
1. Tradtional model: freeze-unfreeze-refreeze
2. Modern model: continuous monitoring and renewal (about being constantly aware and fine-tuning the new ideas always. Need to have clear goals and be flexible)
Obviously, the modern model is what we all strive for to achieve now. Thats what new leadership is about.
I would rate today's lesson a 9/10. There were many presenters today, and many avenues for discussion topics. A whole new insight to drivers of world change and it certainly broadened my perspective. However due to the time constraints, we couldn't discuss more about the 3rd presenter, Lucas's questions on the link between perfect information vs moderation, and anonymity vs open communication; which I thought was pretty interesting.
Drivers of world change: I need to take the lead to make things happen.
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