Session 1!
(reposted because picture could not be viewed)
I started off with almost zero knowledge about Technology and World Change (TWC) and after just session 1, I realised that our lives are actually so entwined with technology. This blog shall mark the start of my journey to learn more about TWC and it is "The Complete Luddite's Guide" because I started off as a Luddite in my own right (lack of knowledge of tech), and because I hope people who read this blog would gain insights about TWC and become less of a Luddite like me! (:
The session mainly focussed on the shift and change of technology and how people responded to such changes. We watched a youtube video based on the book of Guns, Germs and Steel, highlighting the inequality (haves and have nots) of different societies and their different paces of advancement of technology. Prof Shahi then asked us to keep in mind the question 'why do Western people have more "cargo"?'
I believe this is a conundrum on ‘issue of development’, where development of technology varies across different societies and communities. Prof emphasized that we should continue to think about the question of why do Western people have more ‘cargo’ and I think only by doing so can we identify the root causes of such inequality. In my opinion, after identifying the causes, the onus is on the more ‘fortunate’ or the people with more resources to contribute to the technology advancement of the people with less of such resources. For example, agricultural technologies aimed at aiding poor farmers increase yield and allow the farmers to gain more profits from farming.
Interesting Observations and Ideas:
In the class discussion, one reason given why Western people have more ‘cargo’ is geographic advantage: part of world has resources available, giving them an edge in improving their civilization. Another reason is different focus by the communities lead to different goals they work forward to.
It was interesting to learn that the pace at which civilisations progress is affected by a multitude of factors, even things we take for granted like natural resources. However, after the initial spark to use technology, I believe that technology becomes the major accelerator of growth for the communities who leverage on technology to improve the quality of their lives. By using technology, less time is consumed to complete tasks of lesser importance such that more time is available for further growth of the civilisation. Such as transportation reducing traveling times.
Issues of development can be on human development too, not necessarily only on technological development.
Thomas Malthus’s idea that population growth expanded in a faster rate than agriculture technology growth and there might come a day when there is insufficient crops and vegetation supply for the human population. (It sounds probable to me, like how humans have never ending needs and wants but limited resources, such as limited areas of Earth with fertile land to grow crops. However, with the ever-changing technology, I wonder if we should remain optimistic that the problem will be addressed by new and emerging technologies.)
Not to become too reliant on technology! Such that health is compromised (e.g. taking stairs instead of escalators when possible)
Issues for further discussion:
I wished we could have discussed more about the technology timeline; what each of the improvement meant to humans -- the social, economic and political effects. This is so that we can understand more about the effects of the technology breakthroughs, not just identifying that such a technology advancement has occurred. --> update: Prof has set up a discussion of this on facebook!
9.5/10 - I think that this session made me more interested in TWC in general and there were many points raised that made me look at the same issues in a different light! I also enjoyed the videos that Prof showed the class, they were both interesting and thought provoking. I believe if we had more time to discuss about things such as the "issues for further discussion" point, the lesson would be more complete!
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