Potential of Technology!

The Millennium Development Goals(MDGs), was something that struck me as of large scale. The video that was showed to us was touching and after reading a few more related articles, the dependence on technology to get a step closer to reaching the goals was surprising. From the environmental fact sheet, an EU perspective, industrialization uses cutting edge technology to run the economy. However, the pollution and side-effects of industrialization is also solved using another set of cutting-edge technology. It is amazing how technological advancements will shape our ‘better’ future.

Data of development of countries and their progress, was put together in such a way that was not mundane, in just few minutes. This development in countries, is very intrinsically linked with the technological innovations within each country. It is shocking how even within each country the pace of progress varies. The USA and a few western countries, progressed rapidly, leaving far behind its African and Asian counterparts. However, from another demographics, it showed that in the future, Asia and Africa will see great progression. I think this is due to the great potential that has gone untapped in the these areas. Once we see the application of technology in these areas, the MDGs would be reached faster than we know.

The individual presentations by our peers was very intriguing, especially one on ‘Designer Babies’. This concept and leap in technology has raised several ethical debates and controversies. From one of the episodes of ‘The Doctors’, it spotted designing our own babies, as one of the hottest trends! A couple, after conceiving four girls one after another, decided to modify their fertilized egg, that could determine the gender and that the baby is without any deformities or diseases. But this would be severely abused, and that’s where debate sparks off. It was an article that had ponder more on this topic.

The key take away points from session 2 class, was that we still might be far from achieving the MDGs, as we see a very scattered efforts, such as the EU. A more united effort could better the world. Another take away, is how technology is able to modify and create life. Technology mixing with religion or creation of life is disturbing.

I would rate the first two sessions a 9, as I gradually realize the potential of technology!

Why the world is, the way it is?

     This is a reflection of all the readings from session 1. Much of the focus was on technological revolution in early years of civilisation. It was enriching to read about how people, way back in time, were just beginning to discover ways and solutions for mere activities, such as gathering food to sustain their community, keeping themselves warm, and surviving in the enviroment, against climate or the wild.

     Jared's Guns, Germs and Steel was very comprehensively put together, and made it more clear on how warfare, diseases and geographical locations have shaped Africa or the Western countries the way they are now. He believes that geography is the main factor. However, it does strike to me as odd, where the people in New Guinea who are on a constant move to new places, in search of food and shelter, did not to travel as much as the Westerners. What had stopped them from making the leap to being as advanced as the whites and get as much 'cargo' as them? Many countries have surpassed the geographical barriers in search of better living and thrived.

     The reason could be that indegenous people of Africa, were made of small communities. And their priority in life is to sustain each other and ensure continual living of thier kind. Thus, the innovations that arise from them, are limited to survival techniques. The westerners were a more amibitious bunch, where they took innovations to great heights that could change the dynamics of large communities.

     From my previous blog, I had a question about whether the white dominance had anything to do with stifling the progress of New Guineans and also how societies have been shaped till now. It was not mentioned much in the videos about how the skin colour could have affected New Guineans' way of life. This could have been one of the more subtle factors. This amongst many other things, shaped the way the world it is.
    

A New Beginning to Comprehensive Understanding

     When posed the question of what we know about technology and world change, many students replied that they do not know much about technology and world change. It could be a safe answer to give especially when none of us are overly knowledgeable on the topic. I did have a few replies to the question which seemes to grow more comprehensive as the class progressed.

     Technology and world change are undoudbtedly interconnected. Technology changes the dynamics of different aspects in the world, while technology feeds and accommodates to various changes happening in the globe. And we citizens of the world are caught up in this whirlwind. No matter the age, where the previous generation is looking to adjust to the new advances in technology, especially social media.

     I had a vague idea on how products of technology are impacting the globe, however, I was taken aback when the changes and impacts were crudely represented in numbers. (In the video, as shown by our professor) It gives us the concrete statistics how the world in ever evolving. Technology is fundamentally to make life better for people. It is not a question about whether we'll be able to keep up with it, but it is of whether we'll be capable of manipulating it to our benefit and making our lives as we desire it to be. This question can be tackled due to the fact that technology is a mere tool.

     The professor also has introduced to us new insights of Diamond's, where his works starts with a simple question of why the whites had more 'cargo' than the New Guineans. There were many ideas on why such was the case. Travelling opportunities and availability of resources were the factors that the whites had advantage over. However, what struck my mind, of why the whites and not the other party, was colour of the skin. The whites were dominative and that could have shaped the fate of the New Guineans. I have yet to view all the videos of Guns, Germs and Steel to elaborate further on the validity of my point.

     Key take away is that we have to know the history of how technology has progressed and we should read up on various case studies. The direction for the whole semester has been set and it seems that it will be a really informative one!