Session 2 - analysing the shift in dominance in the world

Brief Overview/Summary of the themes/topics addressed during the session
Session two was fascinating in the sense that we went in depth and learnt about the shifting of powers between different societies and the lengths at which societies would go to achieve such power, and the wealth and glory that came along with it. It was not until I watched the “History of the World in 7 minutes” again that I realized how small we are in history. We are simply “dots” on the long timeline (which serves to indicate what we have experienced, what we have witnessed). And sometimes, we may not even be represented at all. This made me think that since what we gain in our lifetimes are so minute and so insignificant in history; why don't we choose a more meaningful way to live, without the sacrificial of others? Yet, again, many have different interpretations of “meaningful”, and with that, lead to a need for sacrifices.

The second part of the session touched on the measurements of human development. We were asked to define human development. This made me realized that technology has played a significant role in directing human development the way it is today, i.e. we have a low infant mortality rate in Singapore due to the safe and clean water and living environment that are achieved through good use of technology. It seemed as if the progress of technology has a direct implication on the pace of human development.

Interesting Observations and Ideas (ideas and concepts that captured your attention)

I felt that Professor’s Shahi’s triangle model for identifying dominant players, rising stars and fall stars is rather captivating. This form of classification helps me shape my view of the place of different countries in the world today. However, what I feel that is the most important in this model is the characterising of these players. It is essential to recognise that people who are open, optimistic and hungry for new knowledge tend to be the rising star because they are willing to invest in new ideas, whereas falling stars are the exact opposite of the former. Being able to recognise the different characteristics help us learn from mistakes and successes. 

The dominant player interests me the most, and not because it holds the greatest power but because of how this player changes so frequently. The Professor mentioned that once someone becomes the dominant player, there is a very high chance of him becoming a falling star due to complacency. This may seem to be a very common idea, but it is very intriguing. The past session taught me that we become dominant when we hold certain technology that give us an edge over others. However, this theory of complacency brings more perspective in which why the dominating player changes so often, and why it is hard to remain dominating. Being complacent is in the nature of human beings because we feel satisfied and proud of the achievements we have, and thereby form a sense of entitlement. It is difficult to continue to be open and keep working hard when we are satisfied with what we have.

This got me thinking – that actually, not only technology is changing rapidly, but the mindset of people is changing as well, and both of these contribute greatly to the shift in dominance in the world. This relates well to the previous session, as it emphasizes that the fate of our future lies in our hands, and that we, in fact, do have a say the direction we are heading towards.

Key Take Away Points (the 2 or 3 key messages from the session that you intend to keep in mind going forward)

I believe that one important thing to take away in this session is that Singapore is a lucky country that did not have to go through what other colonies went through at the beginning of the process of colonialism. When I first read “The Colonial Holocaust and its Legacy”, I was rather tied between two facts. The first fact being that there was indeed the colonial holocaust in the past, and that the natives suffered great loss due to colonialism. The second fact was familiar and is happening in present. The British once colonized Singapore, and the indigenous people did not suffered any massacre or any violent treatments. In fact, the treaty between the British and the indigenous people seemed rather political and civilized. Singapore has an organised structure today, due to what the people learnt from the British. 

So, I questioned how could they (the colonisers) be so different in the past (during the Holocaust in America)? Was the cruelty simply an exaggeration or had the British learnt to be more civilized and more humane throughout the years?

The article recorded many horrifying acts carried out by the invaders, and their self-righteous story of self-defense that they tell their people and their descendants to simply justify their inhumane actions. I did not know what to believe at first because there were so many different stories and uncertainties. But, when the Professor shared his personal account of the perspectives of colonialism, I could assert my stand in the history of colonialism. It was easier to understand and accept the past with a live confirmation from the Professor that such cruel actions actually took place.

History of colonialism is ugly. The Professor said that colonizing may not necessary be a bad thing, because if one has the capability and skills, he would want to dominate. However, I do not agree completely. Colonisation may be an act of human nature because the quest for wealth and power is inborn, yet,  I believe that we still have a sense of compassion that make us human. The fact that a person has the ability to care for others shows that it is deeply instilled in our nature to be empathetic and ethical. I believe colonialism could have been carried out in a less brutal way, without the idea of violence at all. However, I understand that it is difficult to balance selfishness and fairness, and this too, is in our nature. And once again, I truly believe that our choice matters a lot in such things and nature cannot be blamed completely.

Another idea that was rather significant to me was “The Millennium Development Goals”. The Professor shared with us a video on the goals societies have devised on to help other societies catch up. I had a brief knowledge on the Millennium Development Goals through my past education. However, I never paused over it to consider its deeper meaning. I merely scoffed at the goals being impossible to achieve. However, I now have a different perspective. Even though it is hard to accomplish all goals, the fact that there are goals set in place, gives people the direction to work towards. And this, allows one to gauge how much more can be improved and thereby, plan accordingly.

The Professor’s words “don’t keep your eyes down, help others if you can” were really meaningful. It taught me that even if we see a lost cause or a situation that is at its worst state and is not improving, we should still attempt to help and not simply sit back and watch while everything happens. I do believe that we are able to coexist harmoniously only when we are willing to do something to help others. Watching as an audience does not change anything, but practical acts will be able to make a difference. And I want to remember these words and be able to apply them because this is an idea I wish to pass on to others.

Issues for Further Discussion (stuff you wish had been considered or given more air-time in class – and why)

An issue I wanted to be further discussed was the prediction that Africa will become more powerful economically. I was always under the impression that Africa had not been improving much and in many regions, Africans are plagued with diseases. I was therefore, taken aback when I saw that the prediction is that by 2050 AD, Africa’s economy would surpass that of US (which is the currently the strongest). I was really curious and am still wondering how it is possible.

The following article “Africa’s Economic Boom” throws fresh information into my mind, proving that Africa is really on the rise.  I think it would have been interesting to hear the Professor’s view and others’ take on this. I never thought that Africa could rise to be strong because of all the sufferings in the continent. However, with this fact brought up, I am excited to witness the change in dominance that could actually take place in my lifetime.

Personal Ratings for Session (how you would rate the session on a scale of 0 to 10. Feel free to be as subjective as you like in your assessment)

This session has been greatly informative, especially with the input of individual presentations by students. These presentations brought up more discussions of existing issues. I really enjoyed the process of listening facts about the colonialism and then, finally coming into acceptance that history is indeed, vicious and frightening. It also made me feel grateful that we have gradually moved away from that stage and are becoming kinder to each other. Although there are still existing cases of brutality in the world, I believe that we working towards a better future. It would be a difficult journey, but through better understandings and objective regulations, I hope that we will not repeat the same errors that we made in the past. I would give this session a nine out of ten.

session one - a huge gain in depth of technology

Brief Overview/Summary of the themes/topics addressed during the session

Having read the first few chapters of "Guns, Germs and Steel", I attended the first TWC session with an open mind, attempting to erase all my previous assumptions I had about the course. I was glad I did because it was certainly a very rewarding class. Although we started off with a rather lengthy introduction, Professor Shahi made it an insightful sharing session of our knowledge of technology. It became increasingly interesting as he commented on what we knew and what we thought because I learnt rather much from that. 

After that, we moved on to the fundamental basis of the course. We explored the main question of how and why different societies progress at different rates. The book "Guns, Germs and Steel" was especially useful because Jared Diamond had research heavily in pre-history to dig out the root causes of inequality. I previously wondered how technology was ever related to inequality. I also questioned myself how the book was, in anyway, related to the course since it was about history. Further discussions about the book and other readings showed me the answer. Technology was not just about the internet, phones, computers or any modern devices that had us wrapped around them. Technology could be any simple tool, ranging from a piece of stone to an animal ploughing a piece of land. In our discussions, we also acknowledged the fact that technology has indeed improved rather rapidly from the past to today. The next question was then posed - how is technology going to shape the future? 

Interesting Observations and Ideas (ideas and concepts that captured your attention)

To me, the session flowed very smoothly - from the understanding how technology affected different people thirteen thousand years ago to pondering how technology will change tomorrow's world. Being a fan of science-fiction, it was difficult to keep myself from wondering how the future would be like and how technology would change the way we lived today. Professor Shahi then highlighted the most important point of the session - our response to this rapid change.

Indeed, improvement in technology is happening so quickly that people today hardly notice the change. I remembered clearly the Professor using the "boiling frog" anecdote to explain a perspective of how the people today reacted to the quick advancement in technology. It made me realised that we are facing so much change in technology everyday that we have become used to it. This was a fresh observation of the modern world for me. Although, I think the "boiling frog" theory might be rather one-sided as technology may not necessary lead to undesirable consequences, I felt that this was rather important because it instills a fear in me that people are actually unaware of these huge changes taking place. And if we were ignorant, how do we figure out the direction of our future? Are we prepared for the future and the consequences of these significant changes? 

Another issue that came to me was that if people were so comfortable with these changes, satisfaction would then become more difficult to fulfil. And when expectations start to increase exponentially, how much more will the producers have to come up with to satisfy this endless greed of humanity? How do we, consumers, in turn react to these change?  

Therefore, now I truly find it essential to understand these changes because only through understanding can we plan our future paths. This idea coincides with Jared Diamond's view that understanding gives one the capability to implement change. Learning about how the world progressed to the way it is now, has now become crucial for us in reacting to the changes today. An intriguing example raised was that technology is rapidly replacing jobs in the world and people face the issue of unemployment. Understanding this has led education institutions to react by preparing students for jobs that have not been created. Instead on the focus of hard skills, people train their soft skills. It occurred to me that it has become, more than ever, essential to truly learn about the impact of technology. All the information we read and reason about are not just theory off a textbook, but real life applications and implications. This appreciation of the knowledge of technology and its impact to the world would be a key in the preparation to react to the results of the rapid development in our society. 

Key Take Away Points (the 2 or 3 key messages from the session that you intend to keep in mind going forward)

I was particularly interested when the Professor started to discuss the readings. I was fascinated by how far technology could date back to and was keen on hearing the Professor's and others' take on them. I never thought of how inequality could root back to pre-history. It was merely an unfortunate situation to me. During the session, the answer was clear that the different stage of development of the different groups today began with nature and was then followed by human's interference. After watching the entire documentary that was based on "Guns, Germs and Steel", I was even more convinced that nature played a significant part in the different progression of different societies. One of the main reasons why people suffer in poorer nations is the forces of nature, and not because of the difference in intelligence or colour. The key thing to note was that understanding this gives us, the self-sufficient group, the power to help the societies that are left behind to catch up. By recognising the forces that shaped the world that it is today, we can identify the necessary skill sets that are critical in inducing a form of improvement. This is something to important to keep in mind because I feel that this is rather one of the main purposes of the course.

Another important point that was discussed was the future direction of human race. Human beings are expected to have a shorter life expectancy in the future. It is contradicting that with all the advanced technology today that we are expected to lead shorter lives. This is due to widespread problem of obesity all around the world. Technology opens up the option for unhealthy lifestyles. This brought forward up a vital fact that technology is a mere tool and it is, in fact, up to us to decide on how we can use it to pave our paths. How the future would turn out to would be a direct influence of our actions and decisions. 

Issues for Further Discussion (stuff you wish had been considered or given more air-time in class – and why)

During the session, what I felt could have been explore more in depth was the book "Guns, Germs and Steel". I was looking forward to much more insights that I could gain from the discussion of the book. To me, we barely touched the surface of the message of the book. I felt that the conflict between Inca and the Spanish were worth discussing because it showed me the purpose of invasion of lands in the past, i.e. the European-Native American conflict. I thought that it was rather interesting to learn how human played a part in the establishing the different in rates of development in different societies and their purpose in doing so. 

Rather than agreeing with the book as to the reason for the different rates of development for different groups of people, I also hoped that we could open up more viable reasons for this. This interests me because I still question if technology had and have such great impact on the world. I still have my doubts that technology is the answer to the change. I believe that there are more to the world than technology. I would rather hope that humanity and evolution are more convincing answers because it is rather frightening that technology has created such a big deal in the world. If it already has such a big impact now when we are controlling it, what could happen when we are unable to control it?

Personal Ratings for Session (how you would rate the session on a scale of 0 to 10. Feel free to be as subjective as you like in your assessment)

In conclusion, I found the session rather useful because I gained several interesting information from everyone during the introduction part. The questions that the Professor raised were thought-provoking as I learnt much about the part technology played in the world. It was especially rewarding when the Professor pointed out the "boiling frog" theory when I mentioned my looking forward to the "next huge thing" in technology and how I felt technology was progressing rather slowly these days. However, I thought more time could have been spent discussing about the readings as I felt that they were pretty interesting and worth learning more about. Nevertheless, this was just the first introductory session of the course, more would be gained in future sessions. Therefore, I would rate this session an eight.