Session 2

Brief Overview of the Session:

Today’s session began with a recap of the definition of Technology as well as Innovation. We learnt that invention is a subset of innovation, which consists of a 2-step process that involves first a creative or inventive process that generates new ideas, followed by the step of translating that idea into the market.

Yali’s question from the previous session was also brought up, where not only do we have to find out why some societies and countries advanced at a faster rate than others, it is also important for us to determine the steps to help backward countries advance.

Session 2 was divided into two sections. In the first session we touched on the topic of Technology, Society and Dominance followed by Technology and Human Development during the second section.

Interesting observations & ideas:

Session 2A: Technology, Society & Dominance

We began by discussing the different areas of dominance as well as how different countries and societies have taken up leaderships in different forms. The question was how those countries went about building their dominance in their respective areas, and how we could go about doing it too. The methods of becoming a dominant player was summed up into The Shahi Organisational Behaviour Model for identifying Innovation Leaders and Dominant Players.

The model explains that a Rising Star is one who is hungry and is willing to learn and invest in new ideas and knowledge, be it for himself, society or company. Singapore was cited as an example, as we’re constantly inviting in talents and investments from overseas. A Falling Star, on the other hand, has the mindset of being the best and having a closed perspective towards others around them. They are not interested to learn from others and invest in new ideas. Japan in the 1800s and China during the 1400s were cited as good examples of a falling star. The Dominant player was basically the top player in the market, calling the shots. It was interesting how this model can generally be applied to all situations, be it to the individual, company, society or country.

Subsequently, Prof showed us a graph on the Percentage of the world economy by Region from 1AD-2050AD. The interesting observation was how India and China were originally the dominant players from 1AD-1500AD, but were overtaken by Europe during 1500-2000AD, followed by America and Canada. We found that colonialism gave Europe a significant competitive advantage over others while it impeded on the growth and progress of its colonies. This insightful fact about colonialism was carried on to the 1^st reading for the session, which was about the Colonial Holocaust & its Legacy. I was particularly interested in this reading as like most of my classmates and other Singaporeans, this negative perspective on Europe’s colonialism rule was something very new. Unlike other colonies, Singapore has a positive view of colonialism, seeing it as what spurred our progress. Hence this reading, which describes how colonialism actually hinders and impedes on the colonies’ growth is rather thought-provoking.  

Session 2B: Technology & Human Development

During the second section, we first discussed on the different aspect of development, economic, social, industrial, etc. Presently most countries are concerned with sustainable development, which is development without the negative consequences such as depletion of natural resources.

It was interesting to learn that there was an index, the Human Development Index(HDI) which measures a country’s capacity for human development. The 3 inputs used are Health, Education, and Income. We discussed the factors or inputs needed to develop each of the 3 components, such as building the necessary infrastructure for education, and investing in industries to generate jobs for the people to spur income. What attracted me was how we could use the United Nations Development Programme website to compare the HDIs of different countries, along with other development indicators. I find the tools available in the website very useful as I could build my own graph or model to compare the HDIs of countries of my choice.

Key takeaway messages:

I feel that the key takeaway message from this session is that it is important for us to always have an open mind that welcomes new ideas and knowledge. This Rising star mindset is the key in aiding us to keep up with times of rapid change. We should never close ourselves up to others with the belief that we have nothing to learn from them, as this would mark the start of our stagnation and decline.

Session rating: 8.5/10

Today’s session was interesting as I learnt about the other viewpoint on the consequences of colonialism which I had never thought of before. This session was also particularly interesting as the first round of Individual Presentations began, and I got to see my classmates’ personal viewpoints and takes on the topics discussed. I really liked Zheng Tian Bai’s presentation on The dark side of technology as it opened me to some of the negative consequences of technology that I had never thought of before, such as how the birth of Ultrasound actually caused problems such as Genocide. I also thought that Sylvester Yeo's discussion question from his The Genius Babies Grow Up were rather thought-provoking and I would have liked it to see how it would have been discussed among the class had it not been for the time constraint.

TWC Session 1

19th August 2013 marks my very first Technology and World Change class. During the days preceding the session, I didn't know what to expect. When I come across discussions or articles about technology, I will only think of computers, smartphones and things related to IT. My mind then starts to block out whatever is subsequently being discussed. 

That being said...I was rather surprised at how I grew more and more interested as class went by. Within the first few minutes, I already learnt plenty of things I didn't know about technology. In fact, my whole perception of technology was wrong! I learnt that technology not only consisted of IT, but a whole bunch of different topics too, such as bio-medical, mathematics and the sciences. I find that technology is much more entrenched into my life than I realise. To think that I could broaden my knowledge earlier just by typing a few words into the Google search engine that I'm so familiar with! I really need to open up my views and mind. 

After we've passed the initial stages of self-introduction, Prof Shahi showed us a video entitled "Shift Happens" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q). This video made me realise just how important it is for me to try and keep up with the rapid progress in innovation and technology. Prof Shahi told us that technology is advancing and the world is changing so quickly that whatever information we're learning now will most probably get outdated by the time we're Year 3s. Hence is it absolutely important to try and keep up or we'll get left behind. Prof Shahi also gave us a really good advice, which was to not get caught up with and memorise by-heart the information that we're studying, but about the strategy and skills instead. 

One of shocking points mentioned in the video was "It will only take a $1,000 computer to exceed the capabilities of the human brain". This was back in 2005, let alone now. In fact, it was even predicted "that by 2049 a $1,000 computer will exceed the capabilities of the human race". Oh, wow. And here, just the other day, my Mother was saying how expensive computers and laptops were a few decades ago and how limited their capabilities were compared to present-day computers. 

Subsequently, Prof showed us a video on beginning of the book entitled "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Professor Jared Diamond. One of the key points was a question posed by a Papua New Guinean politician, Yali: "Why do you white people have so much cargo, and we so little?".

Oh yes, why? I've never thought of it before. There is so much inequality in the world, be it wealth, resources, opportunities, technology and information. Reasons such as geographical position, religion and cultural mindset. So much that can be used to explain the inequality and unfairness in the world. 

Factors that may hinder technological development and innovation were also discussed. Something was mentioned that I liked was about how the moment people are contented with whatever knowledge or skills they have, they start to decline. There was an article on science and technology in Middle East, which showed that it used to be the most advanced and innovative country in terms of technological development. However that glory started to fade as they stopped encouraging and supporting research. It gave Europe the opportunity to catch-up and overtake them. The Middle Easterners eventually depended on them instead. 

China was also brought up. China was the richest country a long time ago, however, similar to the Middle East, they stopped learning from the other countries outside and closed their doors. This allowed the Westerners to gain significant advantage over them and consequently invaded and exploited them.  This really highlights the importance of "Stay(ing) Hungry", as Prof put it. 

All in all, I felt that it was a very thought-evoking and interesting first session. I've already gained so much new information and insights, and I look forward to what the rest of the classes has in store for me. 

Overall rating: 8/10