Week 13, our last TWC lesson

Today marks the end of our TWC journey. It is the last lesson that we will be having for the whole semester. This module has indeed opened my eyes to the many things on earth that has a relationship with technology. In fact, i can confidently say that technology has shaped our lives and will continue doing so, seeing the vast influences that it has on our everyday life. This module has introduced to me many new and fresh ideas and takeaways that was never made known to me. I am actually quite excited to know what the future technology holds for us and how our lives will be affected due to these changes. Whether is it in the area of entertainment, transportations and especially education. Considering the fact that we will be spending at least 15 years studying, i'm excited to see how the future technology will affect the way education is received by the students.


Of course, to embrace the change as well or we'll be left behind, just like the 3 ways that prof shared with us on how to cope with change: Make it happen; be proactive, Respond when it happens and Be surprised when it happens; blurr.  However, i also feel that we have to ensure that we do not become slaves to technology and do not be overly dependent on technology. 


For this week's class, we were introduced to 4 more different websites. The first one was on technology and identity. They talked about the social aspect of technology on identity. It was stated that the time people have spent on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter increased by 82% in 2009. The group has also explained that Social networking sites are gaining increasing importance in people’s everyday lives and this is only set to increase as more people join and there are more activities to do on these sites. With more people online, it also makes it more viable for others to stay online as well, creating a self-perpetuating cycle. Is virtual reality the new reality? 


The above networks mentioned has indeed helped communications to be more efficient and effective. You are now able to get updates of your friend through FaceBook and Twitter, etc. However, I felt that this is actually quite bad as we now lose the personal touch towards each other. After-all, there is a limit to what the internet can do when it comes to communicating online. It only involves the sense of sight and hearing. It has lost the sense of touch and also, people may feel distant to the opposite party as we have already lost the personal touch. 


Also, i feel that people will get so engrossed using the Internet that they may lose their EQ skills. They may lose the skills to actually communicate with people in reality as they are constantly stuck in the virtual reality. Hence, the humans to humans communication skills is affected.


In addition, the future will be a world of uncertainty. The problem that arise from fake identity will continue to persist well into the future. In addition with the advancement in technology, identity may change on a whole new different level. It may be much easier in the future to hide our identity. Like what was stated; all solutions provided are only a form of prevention, as in reality it all boils down to the individual’s respond. It is still up to an individual whether or not to be honest with his or her identity. This also makes us worry as it will be even more dangerous in the future. 


It was stated that in 2040, Neuro-chip will be implanted in people's brain all over the world. Creating a neuro connection web-based system that connects all neuro-chips around the planet, and people can interact directly and global conscience is achieved. I find this really amazing and it is really accessible for people all around to communicate. But then again, what happens if something happens to the Neuro-chip?? What will happen to the people using it? 


Throughout all the presentations that were done within the past weeks, it is clearly seen how technology has an impact in our lives. It is prevalent in almost every aspect of our life. And we will be able to expect even more new and "weird" technology in the future.


Overall, I enjoyed this TWC module as i really feel that it has brought many new perspective to me as well as many technology related issues.


Class Rating: 9/10

Group Presentations' Week (:

This week, we moved on to the group presentations. We were introduced to different topics that had been affected, changed or evolved due to technology. This has once again reminded me of the wonders of technology and the important role it has played in today's society. It is also due to technology that we are able to create these websites. 4 groups presented this week, with topics like animations, biology warfare and how technology affects the social networking, gaming and media industry. It really made me ponder once again, what will happen if there was no technology? How will how society be like? 

I felt that the first website, which was on sports and technology, was really fresh to me, as how technology influenced sports has not been discussed in class before. Never had I really consider how technology has caused the evolution of sports as well. The group brought us through the stages at which how technology has influenced the training phase of the different sports. For instance, under the sport, swimming, there’s a main change in the swimsuit, which allows the swimmer 5% less effort to swim at the same speed as before. The suit has also undergone plasma treatment to create water repellency and also minimize water absorption. I found it amazing at how technology can actually cause such an innovation to even the most common thing. 

Also, the website also mentioned that in the 2008 Olympic Games alone, 23 out of 25 of the World Records (92%) were won by athletes wearing the ‘Speedo LZR Racer’ swimsuit. This leads me to question, with such innovations, does that mean that it’s a form of cheating? Or is there a form of biasness when it comes to competition?

The last website talks about how technology affects the social networking, gaming and media industry. I believe it is important to educate youths on the cause and effect of using technology recklessly. As the saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure”. Hence, we should start off first by educating the youths so that they will be more aware and precautious when using the Internet. This can help to minimize the danger that it brings. Especially when the gaming industry is thriving as more youths will get affected. 

I enjoyed this week's lesson as i feel that it's something different from the usual class as we get to explore the different topics that is affected by the advancement of technology. 

Class Rating: 8/10

Technology Assessment & Forecasting; Developing a framework for understanding what comes next

This week's session was on technology assessment and about forecasting the future. The topic that was discussed this week was really fresh to me. The term technology assessment, i have never really considered it before. Technology assessment (TA) is the study and evaluation of new technologies. And in reading 4, it states that TA is the practice intended to enhance societal understanding of the broad implications of science and technology and therefore, improve decision-making. One of the reason for establishing TA that was brought up in the reading was because of the need to respond to new and long-standing challenges posted by technological changes. It was interesting to look at how the future technologies will be like. Also, it is important for us to do that as we have to always look forward so as to remain competitive in the society. I believe that forward looking is the way for us to go as we continue to improve.

The lesson started off with prof showing us videos on what the people would think the future will be like, the changes in the types of technology that would be present in the future. Then the idea of teleportation came along. I thought teleportation machine would really be a hot seller if there is one. It saves a lot of traveling time  and saves us all the waiting and walking time. This means that we can use the spare time to do stuffs that are more productive as compared to traveling. However, just like a coin having 2 sides, teleportation has both benefits and harm. The harm would be that we will be over dependent o the machines and if one day the machine breaks down, we would all be handicapped and hence, affecting our lifestyle.

I found reading 2 interesting as well. We were introduced to the term "Futurology" and was also given the different perspective of science fictional. Futurology is mainly driven by collective effort of think tanks. Science fiction tend to be result of individual. They are both different in a way that science fiction is more of individual findings while futurology is driven by a group effort where they predict the future together. Previously, i had the idea that these 2 terms were similar as they both have to do with new findings hence, this reading has really given me new insights on the 2 different terms.

We were also introduced quotes and one of which is, " The present is pregnant with the future"- Voltaire. I agree with this statement as the present holds the things that lies in the future. We can say that what we do now, in the present shapes how the world will be like in the future. Hence, we should be more careful as our own future lies in our own hands. Whatever our actions are, it plays a role to how our future will be like. I found this quote really cool as i feel that it's a quote that kind of bear a really "heavy responsibility", as it explains the significance of our actions today and how we live in the future is really up to us to crave.

Also, another quote that caught my attention was, "The best way to predict the future is to invent it"- Alan Kay. This shares the same idea as the previous quote as it also mean that the future is out there for us to crave it. This falls along the same idea as a change leader, where we are the one that is causing the change and make things happen and not just waiting for things to happen and react and respond to it. I agree with this quote also as, we know ourselves the best and hence, we know what we want the best. Therefore, the best way to predict the future, to predict one that we all favor and look forward to, we have to invent it on our own and create it the way we want it to.

In conclusion, i felt that this week lesson was really engaging and it also gives us a perspective of what we should be thinking of when working on our individual report. It also ended this whole module well as we have discussed in previous lessons the things that were influenced by technology, the past, present and future of it. Hence, we should start looking towards the area of future technology and explore the wonders that it carries.

Class rating : 8/10

New and Emerging Technology

Today’s lesson was on new & emerging technology. I really enjoyed this week’s lesson as I felt that it really stretched our imaginations on the future types of technology that we’ll have. We cannot control what lies ahead of us and hence, it allows room for our imagination to run wild. With the rapid advancement of technology, I firmly believe that the future technology will be much more magnificent. Quoting from what Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge”. Knowledge is what everyone knows and hence, it’s the same across everywhere. People all get the same information and there’s nothing special about anything. However, imagination on the other hand is different. It is based on how an individual thinks and rarely do people think alike.  And this makes it different from the rest. It is more important as it allows us to differentiate things and people. Hence, with this imagination, it leads to more innovative inventions being introduced and we can expect a great difference in the area of technology as compared to now.

This leads me to one really interesting thing that I got out of reading 4 and that is augmented reality. It states that augmented reality holds both tremendous creative potential and truly horrifying potential for abuse.  The reading links augmented reality to education. It gave an example of having a tiny computer worn on the wrist or around the waist, would recognize the geometry and the content user’s immediate environment and overlay that environment with meaningful images and sounds for specific purposes. It went on to talk about augmented technology immersing individuals in experiential learning environments. I found this really interesting and really look forward to such a technology. This would greatly help us in learning and allow us to learn in a faster way, as we’re able to experience what we are learning. Also, I feel that it is easier for us to learn new things when we experience it. This is because; we are able to remember better the things that we have done before. This also brings us away from the mundane school lessons that we now have and it’ll also bring more fun towards learning.

I find this week’s presentation much different from the usual presentation topics since we’re talking about emerging technology and hence the topics discussed were really fresh.  I find the presentation on driverless car really interesting; the fact that we won’t have anyone being our chauffer picking us up or the fact that we’ll be in a taxi without a driver. It’s really amazing how technology can get. However, I don’t think I’ll have the full 100% confidence to sit in a driverless car. Like what was brought up in class, it’s really dangerous to have cars with drivers and without drivers on the road. 

Then again, just like how there are 2 sides of a coin, I think that driverless car has its advantage too. For instance, it saves us all the trouble standing under the hot sun, spending a long time hiring a taxi and also, there may be cases whereby the driver will not be certain of the directions of certain places. Hence, with the driverless car, we need not afraid that the driver will not be familiar with the place that we want to go.

Another fact that I found rally amazing was from the presentation on nuclear fusion. The fact that our computer battery can actually provide us with so much energy really strikes me. We were told that that the computer battery that we use, which makes use of lithium, mixed together with water can actually provide us with electricity that can last us for 3 years. Hence, I don’t see any harm for us not encouraging nuclear fusion. Never knew a small computer battery that we all own, can do so much wonders. Imagine how much electricity we can generate given the fact that almost everyone owns a laptop.

We were also introduced to a new quote, “In terms of the development and application of new and emerging technologies, we are limited only by our imagination- and, all too often, the lack of there of”. I agree with this statement as nothing is impossible and impossible is nothing. It only depends on our own imagination and how we let it run. 

Class rating: 9/10

Energy and World Change

Today’s class was on Energy and World Change. We talked about renewable energy where it is the energy, which comes from natural resources. We were also reminded of the many different forms of renewable energy, for instance, hydroelectricity, geothermal energy, solar energy and energy from biomass and wind turbines that we have. I’m certain of the importance of all these renewable energy looking at the rate at how our energy sources are depleting. Such alternative sources of energy are crucial to help sustain the world today. Commercial activities by mankind have caused much damaged to our Earth today and that our demand for energy will just continue increasing, like what one of the presenter said; where energy is needed is almost every part of life. Hence, having all these renewable energy is important to us and important for sustainable development.

Also, with all the usage of the fossil fuels; burning them, we are emitting harmful gases especially CO2 into the environment. This then lead to global warming which will affect our goal for sustainable development. Hence, renewable resources are important to us. Citing from reading 2, it states that there is an increase in CO2 emission and use of energy supply.  It also states that the rising CO2 emission from energy will be 60% higher than what they are today. Also, it states in it that this has caused climate change. Due to the rise in CO2, it has led to global warming and hence, is a contributor of climate change. Furthermore, climate change will influence economic prosperity, environmentally sustainability and energy security. This greatly affects us as I feel that it is an obstacle to us in achieving sustainable development. We have to ensure the survival of our environment and yet, we are depleting it ourselves. Like what reading 2 stated, “human induced climate change”. This reading further talked about transport technologies where technologies could provide the foundation for a sustainable transport system, with zero or near zero emission of CO2. I feel that with the advancement of technology, we should make use of it to help improve our environment and help sustain our environment, where we transform the way energy is supplied and used.

I found the presentation on Fly Kites Fly really interesting. It talks about a new alternative energy, Kitegen, which uses flying kites to capture wind, which will then translate it to energy. I thought this was a really creative idea, to make use of kites to get energy. However, honestly, I wouldn’t support it 100% at the moment. I feel that there are still many things that we have to take into considerations. For instance, will the kites cause any obstruction to the things in the sky? But then again, considering the size of Singapore, it’ll be really cool if we actually build this Kitegen on HDB flats, where we save up space for other purposes. Or like what one of our classmate said, where we build if above the area where we place our solar panels. 

Then we were introduced to a new term Geoengineering. Personally, I have never came across this term before. I found it really amazing. We have bioengineering and now, Geoengineering. Where ways are invented to help decrease global warming. However, I agree with what was brought up in class, where this solution will only help cover up the problem and not solve the root cause of it. Hence, it may not be very effective in the long run. I feel that we have to tackle the root of the problem like coming up with alternative sources of energy so as to work towards sustainable. 

We ended class with a new quote,"Days of fossil fuels are numbered. Renewable energy will drive the green revolution". I agree with this statement. With the continuous research on new renewable energy and other alternative sources, i feel that we are working towards a stage where we will not depend on fossil fuels anymore. Which i feel will help us also, in terms of our environment state.

Class rating: 8/10 

BioBusiness Revolution2: Agriculture and the Environment

Today’s class was on the revolution of the agriculture sector and the environment. After this week’s lesson, I even more convinced that technology has really unknowingly seeped into our lives and how it has really changed our lives. Last week was how it impacted the healthcare sector, and this week on the agriculture sector. Specifically playing a part in the food that we consume. The consumption of GM food was raised and whether GM food should be labeled, risks brought about by GM food and so on.

What caught my attention was reading 3, where the risk involved from GM was actually raised. For a long time, having consumed GM food, i never thought of the possible risk involved or even thought that there will be risk involved. However, reading 3 talks about some countries who are in opposition to transgenic seed varieties and food products due to unknown risk and absence of obvious consumer benefits arising from genetically modified food. I guess some of us just take things as it is and accept things that are introduced to us. And I guess that it also depends on the background that we are coming from. For instance, people from the other countries may be less educated, hence, may not go so far into thinking of the possible risk involved, or some are just ignorant about it. Furthermore, they are just concern of the benefits that it brings for instance, it provides marketing advantages to food retailers or improved nutrition or taste to attract consumers. 

This also led to the point on whether we should consume GM food. Personally, i feel that it is something that we have already gotten used to. For instance, the broccoli and cauliflower are GM food from wild cabbage and i'm sure there are many more out there in the market. We have already gotten used to eating these vegetables. Furthermore, in one of the presentation, we actually came to realize that the MacDonald meal that we eat has corn or used corn related stuffs to prepare. Jut like how we cannot avoid corn related food, i feel that it's the same as how we can't just avoid GM food. 

In another of the presentation, it talks about the company Monsanto, where it states that farmers have to resort to committing suicide as they are unable to pay off the debt to Monsanto due to high cost incurred for the patenting of their seeds. The number of farmers that committed suicide really shocked me. It really shocked me at how Monsanto actually set rules in different countries, just for their own benefits.  But then again, we cannot push the blame to Monsanto. That's the common goals of most companies- make profits, which help keeps you competitive. I guess the argument here is whether we should be profit driven or we should be welfare driven?? Where they also think about the farmers welfare instead of their own benefits. We also discussed if GM food should be labeled, which i feel that we should. This is also a form of respect to our customers, that we're not hiding anything from them and it also leaves the option open for them to choose whether or not to consume the product. Furthermore, i feel that there is nothing to hide whether or not it's GM food unless there's really something wrong with the product and hence causing the producer to dare not label them. After-all, it's about the producer's integrity, which i feel is one of the most important factor to win the customers' support because there's trust. Hence, i feel that it should be labeled.

We were introduced to another quote this week. "When we are able to arrow the resources we need, we will finally be on the road to sustainability." I agree with this statement and i felt that it was really true. To remain sustainable, we have to have ample resources for us to use as well as for the future generation. Hence, once we are able to arrow the resources, we need not worry of running out of them in the future. I feel that of course, technology will play a part in helping us arrow the resources, looking at how it has changed our world since the past.

I feel that we have to continue embracing the change in technology on our environment and agriculture to be able to reap greater benefits. It really makes me wonder how will the future GM food be like, what kind of new stuff we can expect from the continuous advancement of technology on this sector.

Class rating: 9/10

Biobusiness Revolution: Healthcare and Biomedical Sciences

This week's lesson was on the revolution of the biomedical industry. The class started off with the introduction to the term biobusiness, where it is a commercial activity based on understanding of life science and life science processes. I see it as businesses that are related to the biomedical industry. We also came to know that this constitutes over 25% of global GDP and employs some 40% of world's labour force. 

There's really been a vast change in the biomedical industry looking back from the past till today. The role that technology has on this revolution is really great i can say. With the advancement of technology, it allows research to be carried out which fasten the pace at which medical science advances as well. I feel that the advancement of medical sciences is really crucial. Just like a double edge sword, it benefits us as well as having the possibility to harm us and raises ethical issues. Firstly, this really benefits us, as we're now able to receive better treatment and also precautions to diseases. Of course, this would lead to an increase in the living conditions that we're in as hence, increasing life expectancy. However, we also know that all these research require money. Hence we can see the difference in the different countries- underdeveloped, developing and developed countries. Just like what reading 5 has stated, "We must find better ways to increase value, to keep modern care affordable, while still encouraging medical innovation. With these unprecedented technological achievements have also come unprecedented concerns about the total spending on healthcare and, in particular, about the rising spending on these new medical technologies. Many worry that, even if these new technologies come along, they will not benefit because they will not be able to afford the high cost.” Hence, we have to ensure that such medical innovations reach to all parts of the world to ensure that everyone gets to benefit from it.

On a flip side, like what reading 4 has stated regarding the disruptive innovations and healthcare, where dominant players place too much emphasis on improving their products to the point where consumers don't even know what they are using. Also, with the increase in innovations, it creates the potential for companies to introduce something known as disruptive innovation, where companies come up with cheaper and more convenient products to meet the needs of less-demanding customers. Just like a double edge sword, the increase in medical innovations has both its positive and negative side. However, i feel that this should not stop companies from the continual innovations and research that they are having. It is still important as this not only bring benefits to the healthcare sectors, it also aid in providing jobs for the people. 

The class went on to discuss on whether we should enhance human beings. In my opinion, i feel that we should not encourage the enhancement of human beings. Speaking from the ethical side, like what they say, it disrupt God's creation. Everyone is wonderfully made and created by God, hence we should not try to enhance ourselves to make us even better. From the other point of view, i feel that there may also be cases of discrimination and it adds stress to the person. Furthermore, it may also lead to a case whereby the person dared not leave her house just to avoid the criticism. Also, we are not sure the side effects that it may cause in the future. 

We were again introduced to 2 quotes, "Biobusiness may well be our best hope for achieving sustainable" and "The Biobusiness revolution will transform our lives and our economies-in the area of health, food, clothes and energy sources". I feel that it is really true that our lives will be transformed due to the biobusiness revolution. Many new inventions will be introduced with the continual advancement of technology and this causes people to be more reliable on them and hence it may become part of our lives unknowingly. 

I felt that this week's topic was really interesting as it talks about the healthcare side which most people are concern about. Moreover, seeing how the healthcare sector has advances, it really makes us wonder what type of new innovations we can expect in the future. 

Class rating: 9/10