I never really knew about the effects technology has on the world at large, I merely accepted the fact that technology is progressing at an extremely fast rate. However, I brought away several new ideas from the lesson on Tuesday.
One of the main points of discussion was on whether China would be overtaking US in the future. Personally, I do think that China has the capabilities to overtake the US. It seems that China is progressing in the right direction, in terms of economic output. However, detractors argue that China will not overtake US because of the large percentage of its population living in poverty. Furthermore, China has not caught up with the US in terms of military power, innovation and technology. Thus, it would take China much longer before she overtakes US.
In my opinion, I feel that China has seen great economic growth in the past few years, and this has translated to higher standards of living for the people and greater opportunities for employment/trade/investment etc. Also, China has a large manufacturing industry which many countries, including the US, depend on. As this manufacturing industry flourishes, China's economy will boom.
Yet, at the same time, while I agree that China will overtake the US, this is not my main concern. What I am concerned about is how the people in China will benefit from this. Despite China's economy currently experiencing a boom, it remains a fact that the majority of the people in China are still living in poverty. High GDP figures are calculated using the incomes of the people living in the more developed areas in China such as Shanghai and Hongkong. What about those living in the rural areas and still depending on agriculture for a living? They do not seem to be benefitting from China's progress. Instead, it may seem that they may end up suffering as China continues to advance, as the cost of living rises but their income levels remain stagnant.
Thus, I feel that more attention should be given to these peasants living in the rural areas; More aid should be provided for them to make a better transition from their lives as peasants to lives that are more up-to-date with the progress of China.
One other point that struck me most during the lesson was the video Dr. Shahi showed us towards the end of the lesson, "The Joy of Stats".
It was amazing, watching Hans Rosling use augmented reality animation to show how the countries developed over the years. It left a deep impression on me, how some countries such as Italy and Shanghai developed so much. It goes to show how much development is related to world change. As the world develops, with the numerous advances in innovation, technology, the development of cultures etc, the world changes greatly as well. We should be more aware of the developments that have brought us to the world which we live in today.
Some examples of the developments the world has gone through which Dr. Shahi brought up include industrial development (how machines have lessened our workload), cultural development (the preservation of traditional cultures and the evolution of new cultures) and economic development (the creation of jobs and the increase in income and cost of living).
Without such developments, would the world have been able to evolve to the state it is in today? I doubt.
The second lesson of TWC was just as captivating as the first lesson, perhaps even more, because I was able to learn more from this second lesson. However, because the lesson seemed a bit rushed, I would rate it 6/10. I would have preferred more time for Dr. Shahi to expand on his topics.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Week 1
The first Technology and World Change lesson was indeed insightful, considering that I came into the Seminar Room not knowing what to expect. When we had to give a brief introduction of ourselves and include what we knew about Technology and World Change, I was stumped. I had no idea what this whole course was about.
Yet, as the lesson progressed, my interest in the subject grew. I have to say that videos catch my attention more than anything else, and hence, I was most enthralled by the various videos Professor showed, including “Did You Know” and “Guns, Germs and Steel”.
These two videos were most thought-invoking for me, and I was amazed by the progression of information technology as shown by the video “Did You Know”. Throughout the years, we have indeed progressed tremendously. But yet at the same time, with such rapid progression, we have started to become overly dependent on technology. This brings me to a point which was brought up briefly during lesson time. Are we becoming too connected such that we are no longer connected? I do think so. Perhaps 5 years ago, our parents would have complained about us being glued to our mobile phones 24/, and not leaving any time for proper communication with them. Today, even our parents are becoming our friends on Facebook, and posting status updates every hour. It is not merely the younger generation who is becoming more dependent on the new forms of information technology. Even the older generation is starting to catch up with these advances.
Well, if this is the case now, what about 5 or 10 years later? What would the world be like when technology continues to advance even more? Would our emotional relationships fail? How different would we be from robots then, if we continue to distant ourselves from emotional relationships, choosing to merely depend on the social media or technology to build our relationships and expect them to last?
To add on, “Guns, Germs and Steel” addressed an issue which I feel should be a point of greater concern in today’s world.
"Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo, but we black people had little cargo of our own?" –Yali, 1974
While we continue developing at such a fast pace, what about the other parts of the world? The less developed areas? Who is helping them to keep up with times? Few people actually take an interest in the development of these less developed areas, and hence, as we continue to progress so rapidly, the people living in the rural areas are left behind in the wake of our progress. Wouldn’t this result in greater global inequality? Instead of spending all our resources on finding new and faster ways to develop our information technology, why not put aside some resources to aid the people in the less developed areas to advance, such that they might be able to live more comfortably, instead of having to work twice as hard as us. Considering the amount of work they have to do compared to us (we have machines to help us, they depend on manual labour), who are we to complain that we are burned/stressed out?
All in all, I learnt a great deal during this first lesson. It was intriguing and I am already looking forward to the next lesson. I would rate this lesson 7/10.
Yet, as the lesson progressed, my interest in the subject grew. I have to say that videos catch my attention more than anything else, and hence, I was most enthralled by the various videos Professor showed, including “Did You Know” and “Guns, Germs and Steel”.
These two videos were most thought-invoking for me, and I was amazed by the progression of information technology as shown by the video “Did You Know”. Throughout the years, we have indeed progressed tremendously. But yet at the same time, with such rapid progression, we have started to become overly dependent on technology. This brings me to a point which was brought up briefly during lesson time. Are we becoming too connected such that we are no longer connected? I do think so. Perhaps 5 years ago, our parents would have complained about us being glued to our mobile phones 24/, and not leaving any time for proper communication with them. Today, even our parents are becoming our friends on Facebook, and posting status updates every hour. It is not merely the younger generation who is becoming more dependent on the new forms of information technology. Even the older generation is starting to catch up with these advances.
Well, if this is the case now, what about 5 or 10 years later? What would the world be like when technology continues to advance even more? Would our emotional relationships fail? How different would we be from robots then, if we continue to distant ourselves from emotional relationships, choosing to merely depend on the social media or technology to build our relationships and expect them to last?
To add on, “Guns, Germs and Steel” addressed an issue which I feel should be a point of greater concern in today’s world.
"Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo, but we black people had little cargo of our own?" –Yali, 1974
While we continue developing at such a fast pace, what about the other parts of the world? The less developed areas? Who is helping them to keep up with times? Few people actually take an interest in the development of these less developed areas, and hence, as we continue to progress so rapidly, the people living in the rural areas are left behind in the wake of our progress. Wouldn’t this result in greater global inequality? Instead of spending all our resources on finding new and faster ways to develop our information technology, why not put aside some resources to aid the people in the less developed areas to advance, such that they might be able to live more comfortably, instead of having to work twice as hard as us. Considering the amount of work they have to do compared to us (we have machines to help us, they depend on manual labour), who are we to complain that we are burned/stressed out?
All in all, I learnt a great deal during this first lesson. It was intriguing and I am already looking forward to the next lesson. I would rate this lesson 7/10.
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