Session 2

Brief overview/summery

The lesson was organized into 3 parts. The first was the introduction of the new students in the class (such as myself) as we only just got our bids for the class. The second componant was about technology and global dominance. The third was about human development.

During the first half of the lesson proper (excluding the introductions), we discussed about the different dimensions of global dominance. How different countries have different strongholds. Such like the US has indeed far superior military might than the rest of the world, or that China and India are currently the strongholds of industry and manufacturing. Or how North Korea has its forte on information censorship – (dis)informantion.

The first half also took us into investigating the rise and falls of a countries superiority. How the shifts of power are constantly taking place. When one rises to become the dominant player he must keep on improving himself. How one acts when he is a dominant player is key to when his downfall will come.
Essentially, the sequence of events would be first, the rising of the up and coming star, then he proceeds on to be the dominant player and then finally relinquishing his place to another who will surpass him, once he gets too complacent. (at this, it reminded me of the Chinese saying 一山更比一山高, which means there will be a high mountain.)

We were then shown an interesting video on a financial analyst’s view on the economic powershift that has already began. In the video, the analyst said that in terms of raw GDP (gross domestic product) he has already predicted China to be the dominant player, contrary to popular belief that the US still holds a major market share. This is because, he says, that the US GDP figures are inflated. Taking the produce from China, and selling it at a higher price. That’s the only reason why the US is still the dominant player. We then proceeded on with the oral presentations.

The first oral presentation of this segment was about social networking, and how businesses are already embracing it as a tool for networking. The presentation also dwelled into the lack of privacy social networking sites present us with. Kudos to Dickson for his entertaining presentation!

The second oral presentation was about the American’s military development. How so much money (708 bilion) has gone into military R&D, and how the Americans are currently developing a new weapons system to cut out any threat from around the world! A bit dry to my liking, but nonetheless it was really insightful for such a topic that is so foreign to me.

After that it was break.

Part 2 of the class began. The session was gone through pretty fast, because of the lack of time. However it was still very much insightful nonetheless. We dwelled on topics such as the different dimensions of development; social; economic; technological; cultural etc. As I am writing this, I am reminded of the Prof Diamond and his book Guns, Germs, and Steel, where the main argument of why there are so many different variations the rate of human development is due to the earth’s unequal distribution of natural resources. During the class, Prof described a barometer for human development – The human development index or HDI for short. It is the brainchild of the United Nations development programme. It measures the human development in different countries using 3 factors considered - The standard of living, the life expectancy and the literacy rate. He went through the index, and we took a look at the ratings of different countries around the world. Unexpectedly, the African nations were at the bottom. The question of geography disparity again came into my mind. After discussion, we proceeded on again with 2 more oral presentations.

The 2 oral presentations challenged and enquired the view of modern technology integrating with our biology. For example the synthesis of new dugs to cure all the more deadly illnesses that plagues our sorry lives due to the excessive and unaccounted use of antibiotics that has led to the formation of many new superbugs. Also presented was a view of extremes optimism and pessimism, due to the ever-changing development of technology we face, about the future of humans.

Ultimately very unique perspectives were presented in class.


Interesting Observations/Ideas

I really liked the idea of the financial analyst pointing out how growth forcasts and figures for the US were inflated. The analyst explained the concept rather simply. Where the GDP of a country could be inflated, because of a better economic dollar. I buy it cheaply, and sell it more expensively. Essentially, I create value and the difference in value will be what I’m worth.

Also in the list of interesting observations was Dr Shahi’s view on how he gauges a rising industry, a dominant player, and a falling star. He, being trained as a physician, knows the pathognomonic signs of a disease. In a similar way, he looks at certain situations, factors in the signs, and comes out with a diagnosis for people and industries. It thus occurred to me that with just a little bit of creativity and flexibility one can apply the skills he learnt to a different context, and have a niche built out of it!

One of the biggest insights of the lesson was on the promotion of women’s education. This is because, when you educate a man, he thinks only of himself (most of the time!) However, when you educate a woman, she brings the whole family along with her. Hearing this, it opened up a world of insights in my head. Indeed, so many times it has been said that a mother would die for her child to survive. Biology has moulded her into behaving like that. With the promotion of women education, families can within a few generations improve their livelihood, and possibly break out of the poverty cycle. Indeed, for those cultures who have millions living like that, usually the women are deprived of education. Unless the men are selfless, the whole family still has no way to break out. Perhaps man is afraid of a feministic society? It is a radical thought? Perhaps it all boils down to our biology. Men have always been physically bigger than women, and it would be an embarrassment to be ruled by someone smaller/weaker? Perhaps it is this chauvinistic reason that we deprive women to an education.

Another interesting observation is the investment of China in Africa. The continent of Africa has long known to be exploited by the western nations. With the abundance of natural resources, it has become a lucrative place for investment outside of Africa. This means that the people of Africa do not be the economic benefit of the investments. However, now with the emergence of China, Africa has a glimmer of hope. China, on the grounds that it is a developing country, will build infrastructure connecting towns and cities in Africa for trading opportunities with the continent. Thus economic development can take place in Africa, with the rise of infrastructure within the country, and thus its natural resources are not all exploited. At least there are some tangible benefits.

Key Takeaway Points

The educating of women in the developing world is definitely a key takeaway point. With education for women, it will be a fast track for families to be educated. With education, comes a better life, better employment prospects etc. In reality this is very hard to implement as there would be clashes of culture. Cultures that traditionally do not send women to be educated may feel a threat to their culture. This brings us to my second point under this section.

Technology used to simplify and convenient life have given rise to the need for education and the use of implementation of new technology. However, as previously considered, technology has 2 sides. It could be a help or hindrance. With technology, health standards have improved. With globalization, going places are no problem. In fact with technology, we can create a lot more wealth than though previously. We are investing in foreign markets and doing more and more business overseas. However with technology, comes the downside. With the industrial revolution, man did not care about his ecosystem. He only cared about the economic benefits he reaped from his produce. Rivers were polluted, sea life died. On a more subtle note, processed food and globalised fast food restaurants have conquered the diets of modern man. Along with the pollutants of cars, airplanes, and other industrial devices, we have released a lot of carcinogenic materials into the air.

Technology has infiltrated the minds of the young and restless and open new horizons to them. The widespread availability of gambling and pornographic websites seem to convey a message that they have accomplished their mission for the corruption of souls. Our morals may have been compromised when we want to know more about all these. All in all, perhaps on the surface level, the development of technology has seen to create more convenience in our lives. But the ultimate underlying question is whether we have already taken technology a step to far, and it has affected already the way we think. Technological influences to our brains is nothing but subtle. The nightmare and visons of moral degrading for the future is real. Technology has helped glorify that. Lures of monies and riches make eager minds succumb to that same fate of gamblers and philanderers. The future is now.

Issues for further discussion

I would like to dwell into the issue of lack of women education. How and why in the first place was female education neglected. Since we have seen the reasons how advantageous female education is, how come we did not see this earlier? Are men really that chauvinistic? Perhaps we are.

Rating

Bravo! Information flow was excellent. There were many good points introduced and elaborated. However lack of time (blame it on people like myself who were not at the first session) and the rush to the finish line takes away some points! Verdict: 7.5/10