Sesson 1

I have missed the first session of TWC. Hence this blog entry will be my opinions on the readings and slides.

Brief Overview/Summery

Technology development has indeed reshaped the world. The main argument by Professor J. Diamond in his book Guns, Germs and Steel is that the different rates of technological development of many civilisations at any particular given time is due te the disparity of geographical advantage. In the book, many examples are given, one of the more prominent examples was of how the Europeans came to be so dominant during their renessance periods. Essentially, he argues, early human history started with hunting and gathering. However, when people found that they could grow the correct type of plants and crops suitable for civilisation sustainability, large populations flourished. Aided with animals for farming(such as horses, sheep, goat etc)whom they have already learnt how to domesticate,(through trial and error)productivity would rise. Hence there would be surpluses. With many other people in the population not farmers, these people could go and learn different skills. For civilisations without the geographical advantage of the correct crops to plant or without the animals native to the area to domesticate to help farming, they would have to work harder for their food. They would not be so productive, and hence the people of that civilisation would lag behind in terms of technological development.

Robert Guisepi's article too, concurs with the timeline that Professor Diamond. The flow of how civilisations came to farm is provided too in his article. Firstly hunters and gatherers, then people learning how to grow crops and domesticating animals native to a region. He describes the varience in crops in different areas
around the world during a similar peroid of time - The Neolithic Revolution

The article about technological development in the middle east gives the reader a short history of the development of maths and science during the middle east. How it was a powerhouse for technological development in the past. Especially advanced in the art of medicine, it was to lead the Europeans out the the dark ages. The article then shows how complacency and the lack of drive of going forward was to be their downfall. The persian and ottoman empire's leaders were very satisfied with the status quo, and so the West surged on and ultimately it was the West that had to supply the middle east with the technological knowhow to build their infrastucture. However, now the middle east has grown to adapt modern technology and they are a leader in the development of water resources. This is due to the fact that they are located in a particularly arid area and that they have natural resources of oil that can fund their research. The use of mobile phones are a common sight in hard to reach areas as the technological development of communications infrasturcture has bee developed.

Interesting Observations and Ideas

As I read through the articles, it came to mind that it was actually man's need to survive that made him ingenious. His adaptability, in this sense, to survive the harshest of conditions was what fuelled his ingenuity. Man's ability to observe what nature has put in front of him and to carve it out to his own advantage. This can be seen when the earliest farmers realised that they could cultivate the crops that grew natively in their areas and domesticate the animals to help him with productivity. Closer to our times, I see that the middle east, needing to survive the arid conditions, use their wealth in oil to fund their water research.

Man must also remain adaptable and open to change to remain competitive. The ottoman and persian empire were happy to be in the status quo, because at that time they were leaders in the fields of technology. However their decision to dwell in their comfort zone was to be their downfall. Their decision would come to haunt their people many generations later, when the West was called in to build the middle east's infrastructure because of their lack of technical know how.

Looking through the timeline of significant technological revolutions, it came to my mind that our current age, we take alot of things for granted. Our advance in the biomedical sector, in the telecommunications sector, the industral revolution etc are all no small milestones. However, many of us have integrated technology into our lives that we simply cannot live without it. Imagine the lack of internet access, or computers for that matter, such that countries like Finland have made 1Mbps internet access a human right! On the matter of human life expectancy, people can expect to live longer because of biomedical development. Vaccines, drugs all have been created to make us live a better life. People receive vaccinations for diseases that have killed millions in the past, and for the most majority of us, we barely bat an eyelid for how much human know how that has gone into that development.

However there are downsides to developments. People use the internet for pornography, they abuse drugs, which are detrimental to their health and development in countries for weapons superiority has also created a black market for which terrorist can tap. Oh the horror, if terrorists ever got their hands on a nuclear bomb!

Key Takeaways
Man has indeed made much progress in the past for the sake of comfort for future generations. I feel that through this self reflction, much of me has gone on to be more appreciative of what I have and what I eat. It has also led me to believe that with the ingenuity of humans for technologica; advancement, we must also be accountable for the detrimental externalities that we unknowingly cause. We must err on the side of caution and make sure that dangerous technologies are not exploited by people. With technological development also comes ethical issues. Common ethical issues encountered , for example in the biomedical sector would be "is euthenesia correct?" in the weapons sector, "is creating a bomb being able to kill millions of people at a time right?" Technology development is reshaping the world. Everyday, many new innovations to make out lives more convinient are being developed, but, everyday too, these innovations, when in the hands of a determined extreamist, could prove the fatal for that unlucky few. It is thus up to ourselves to safeguard and implement the guidelines that will make the world a safer place, and it will not be easy!

Issues for further discussion

Ethics in the biomedical sector, especially on more religiously sensitive issues, such as gender selection for babies, euthenesia etc

More dwelling into Prof Diamond's argument, and how we can actually study the fundamentals and win against nature!


Personal Rating
I cannot give a rating as I did not attend the class. However I look forward to participate in the next class!