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)
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)
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)
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)
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment