Chose this template with a picture of a long stretch of road as background because i felt that it symbolizes the unknown future ahead. Howver, i experienced some technical issues with this blog! Whatever that was written yesterday disappeared from my draft today.. So let's rewind back:
Today is day that marks the official start of my school life in SMU! Had been looking forward to this day for a very long time as it was always my wish to study in a local university. And I'm glad that Technology and World Change was the kick start for Semester 1.
Being inquisitive since young, I would always ask WHY, WHAT and HOW questions, in hope of receiving satisfactory explanations. I have ever asked around, how exactly did technology come about? How fast is it advancing? Controllable? And whether it will, ever, stop?
After viewing the interesting Youtube video titled "Did you know; Shift Happens" shared by Prof. Shahi during class, I was awed by the facts provided in it! (URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljbI-363A2Q) What a drastic change of figures..
Comparing today's world with the past, technology had advanced at an extremely fast pace and it will only continue to escalate to greater heights at uncontrollable speed as we move towards the future. That, is one key message I would want to keep in mind going forward. Listed below are the points which caught my attention during the video:
- We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist;
- Using technologies that haven't yet been invented;
- In order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet.
I found this sentence very interesting and have to admit that i really agree with it. Schools are trying their best to equip students with the best skills they can provide so as to catch up with the world. Lagging behind doesn't do any good at all as we won't be able to foresee what's coming in the future. People always say, "Be contented with what you have". But this is something that we have to do the opposite in order to improve and upgrade ourselves.
- 1 in every 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met online.
With regards to the above point, how often have you heard of people meeting their other half from online games or social networking sites in the past? Not at all. The present? Too common. It's really amazing to see how people come up with ideas and innovations, be it gadgets, or social networking media to cater to the needs and wants of the younger generations.
How many hours are spent using the computer per day on the average? Probably 5 hours? Blogging, chatting online, facebook-ing, using twitter, gaming and watching videos! Of course, there's definitely more. Take a look at the things around you too. Colour printer, air conditioner.. even the chair which we're sitting on!
Basically everything involves technology!
Thus, the key message is that, we can't do without technology now. Just for the sake of making lives easier while upgrading ourselves, we have to invest in Research & Development (R&D). We can't stop letting our imaginations run wild! That's probably one of the ways how technology came about.
I would rate today's session a 7. I felt that the open discussion was good as it kept me pondering over the questions. A simple one such as "Why you white men have so much cargo, and we New Guineans have so little?" has many answers to it - that westerners tend to be more adventurous, hence, dreaming of possibilities. Whereas New Guineans are contented with what they have (Partly due to the lack of resources in terms of education). Personally, i agree and believe that white men do have more chances of traveling around to explore and keep up with latest technologies and developments, compared to New Guineans, which explains one of the reasons why they lag behind.
Overall, i believe more issues relating to Guns, Germs and Steel could be raised, and i will be interested to watch part 2 of it soon.
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