For millennia, humanity has struggled with conflicts between one group and another, weather it be one man vs another, one village vs another, or one nation vs another. It hasn’t always been like this, the first oldest known to exist in the Americas, Caral located in the north of Lima, Supe Valley, unlike so many other cities through out history, had no fortifications, or other means of self protection. Researchers have concluded that, this city existed in mutual cooperation with societies throughout a large area of the Americas, through the trade of their fishing nets and other goods, for fish and other resources from these other societies. It is unfortunate that, such a codependent existence is the exception rather than the rule, however it does give one hope that, such a relationship between individuals, groups, and nations could once again be established.
Globalization on some levels seems to be an effort towards this goal, but on other levels, it seems to work against this goal. With the many challenges facing humanity at this time, some factors view nationalism as a means for solving economic and social issues, however as seen in the past, the scope and scale of human civilization makes such a move counterproductive.
Throughout human history, every city at the heart of any great society has been a crossroads. That is to say, these cities were gathering points, not only for the exchange of tangible resources such as various goods and services, crops and foodstuff, etc they have also been places for the exchange of technologies, and ways of thinking from philosophies, sciences, to areas of a spiritual nature. Amongst these cities have been Timbuktu, Alexandria, Athens, Rome, London, and many more including many through out the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe. Today, newer cities have become crossroads, from America’s New York City to the micas of Hong Kong and Tokyo in the orient, these cities are practically nations in of themselves, with their huge populations, technology centers, and other resources.
The global communications networks like the internet, telecommunication systems, etc enable these hubs and others to connect with each other, and the far reaches of the globe. As a result of such technologies, humanity has begun to see itself as a collective, rather than just as islands each onto themselves. This was in part due to the global threat of nuclear war during the nuclear arms race, but is now becoming more so due to the impact of global warming, natural disasters, and a global economy which ties the economies of the world’s countries together.
A lot of work is yet to be done, as there are still biases and xenophobia to be overcome.
In the same way, people from rural areas are drawn to cities for a better economic life, so too are people from impoverished countries drawn to those countries with more stable economies, governments, and infrastructures. Many of the impoverished nations have become so due to corruption, environmental change, and by exploitation by more powerful nations. For decades, American companies have exploited lower wages in Mexico, while taking steps to maintain the lowest wages. As a result, there has been no growth of a middle class, which is the driving force behind any country’s economic development. This has caused a polarization in the classes of Mexico to a few being in the upper class, while the majority suffers in poverty.
As history has shown, irregardless of creed or culture, abject poverty brings forth crime, drug abuse, and the degradation of the community at large. This can be seen in the slums from Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. So, it is no wonder people seeking a better life will use whatever means possible, legal and illegal to immigrate to regions where life is better. However, those who limit themselves to only the concerns of their local communities, the influx of people different than themselves can be troubling. Troubling because, we as humans often fear that which is different. This serves us well, when we hear an unknown sound, when we are walking down a dark street, or see an unknown form moving in the dark of night. However, it does us a disservice when, it prevents us from understanding those in our community who are different from ourselves due to a difference in culture, religion, and so forth.
There have been countless contributions to the world at large by all people’s on earth, from the first written languages in Egypt and the Middle East, to the latest technological developments throughout the world, we have all benefited from the contributions of those vary much like and unlike ourselves. Unfortunately, segments of society are still oppressed be it based on culture, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. Furthermore, economic, social, and educational inequities prevent many of the world’s people from contributing to society to the degree that they should. As a result, what inventions, art, philosophies, and other contributions to society will never see the light of day? For, life on the small local scare is representative and reflective of life on the national and global scale. How can we blame a country for having religiously or culturally extremist views, when we allow such views to fester here at home? When we have segments of our society who judge whole cultures and people due to the actions of their government, extremist groups and individuals, we open ourselves to the same scrutiny.
When we tolerate racism, sexism, homophobia, religious intolerance, and other forms of xenophobia in our community, we are no different than, those who we judge in other parts of the world who are guilty of the same crimes against humanity. When we deny people the right to religion or from religion, we lose part of our humanity. The Dark Ages, the Inquisition, and Nazism are often treated as isolated incidents in human history, but history shows that, humanity all to often does not learn from its mistakes. Weather it has been, the loss of a society due to over taxing their local environment, or the loss of individual tribes with unique cultures, languages, and histories for the purposes of economic gains, or for the right to assert our culture, faith, and society upon them, humanity always looses in the end. Likewise, when we exclude and otherwise disempower segments of our society due to a difference in culture, religion, etc, humanity again loses in the end.
Our current survival on a local and global level continues to be threatened by many factors such as war, poverty, and environmental crisis, the greatest of which may be global warming. It is only be working together on local, national, and international levels, can we face these and many other challenges facing humanity. We can overcome these challenges, only if we work together. We must advance ourselves socially to the degree in which we have developed technologically. Oddly enough, many of these solutions will be technical, however they can not and will not be effective without social change. We must look at the globe as the Astronauts who visited the moon saw it, as one globe, one society, interdependent and inseparable, and as satellites view the world, a world without borders, without national boundaries.
The next time you think of those different from yourself as the other, as outsiders, as those who are different from yourself, remember that, we all share a common biology, and in countless ways through our common origins in Africa, a common history, and that no matter how different we may seem, we are all human in the end.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Technophobia
Technophobia
Technophobia: is an abnormal fear of or anxiety about the effects of advanced technology, which confounds me since, technology does so much for society. In the last couple hundred years, the human life span has gone from around forty years, to close to eighty years for most people in industrialized nations. In this century, we could see the average life span reach over one hundred years of age.
Technology in of itself is neutral, it’s how it is put to use that make all the difference. The same technology that has put men on the moon, put satellites in space, placed the space station in orbit, and so many other important technological developments is also the same technology behind intercontinental missiles. Electricity can be used to light our homes, or it can be used to execute someone, that does not make it an inherently evil technology.
What needs to be done is, when we have a concern about possible misuses of a certain technology, is put guidelines in place to insure it’s not misused. Every day, people use countless chemicals that combined in the right quantities and combinations, result in a chemical bomb, as we seen in the Oklahoma Federal Building bombing on April 19 1995. The bomb used common industrial chemicals, such as fertilizer, solvent, etc to make their bomb, do we ban such items simple because they can be misused? No, we put in rules to keep tabs on new customers who make large purchases of such items, to insure they are not building a bomb, or limit the amount of such product that can be purchased at one time by an individual. This is similar to the rules for medications that can be used in crystal meth labs.
I look at the countless lives technology has changed for the better, those who have received new organs, how now they can simply go through the belly button, throat, and other openings in the body, so as to leave no scars. How now, they are developing bionic limbs that open and close when the person contracts the corresponding muscles on their limb. They are even working on artificial limbs that give tactile feedback, so the amputee, can feel hot, cold, and a since of touch from the artificial limb. They have given many deaf people the ability to hear with cochlear implants, and are now developing artificial eyes that give some people the ability to see. The cloning of organs is right around the corner, they have been able to clone several organs, and this can save countless people, as over fifty percent of those waiting for organs die while waiting for their organs. An organ cloned from your own stem cells has the added benefit of no rejection, so there would be no need for anti-rejection medication, or a weekend immune system for the rest of your life, or the increased chance of cancer from the compromised immune system.
I find a lot of the technophobia lies in the areas of food and medicine, to alleviate fears, and to insure our safety, rigorous testing of any new technologies should be required. In either case, when a medical product or a food product has negative side effects, it is our responsibility to stand up and demand something be done. However, even when we are informed, we often do nothing. Look at how many Americans and other people around the world still smoke, knowing full well smoking causes cancer. Even after the banning of Ephedrine, you can still find similar products on the shelves in stores, and advertised in magazines, and on TV. People are aware of the phrase, if it sounds too good, it probably is, but they rarely heed its warning. Look at how many people eat the largest burgers at the various fast food restaurants, knowing all too well that, a large burger, fries, and drink is a day’s calories or more.
As far as genetically modified food, I understand people’s fears, and I feel vigorous testing is mandatory. Genetic modification happens in the wild to a small degree, and humans have done it for millennia via breeding, just look at the countless dog, cat, and hoarse breeds we have created. Of course, genetic manipulation takes this to a higher level, and there may be some unexpected results, which is why there must be vigorous testing. If that industry is failing to do so, we need to crack down on the government and that industry, but it doesn’t make the technology inherently bad or evil. If you consider global warming and how researchers say, it could mean less bio-diversity. It might be necessary to engineer large trees that can deal with the warmer temperatures, to save our forests, and to continue to have an ongoing supply of lumber. Even though we are working on alternative fuels, and many other technologies to counter global warming, there may be some problems that only genetic engineering can solve, until we can cool the planet.
Of course, we should take every step to avoid any negative impact on humanity or any life when doing genetic engineering. Just as, we should take every step to avoid negative impacts from any technology, be it the use of petroleum products, mining natural minerals, or even from energy plants coal, nuclear, etc. So maybe rather than being like Chicken Little and running around declaring that the sky is falling, those who are technophobic could better serve humanity, by the advocating least harm as the philosophy of humanity. Through this philosophy for example, the electronics industry could be motivated to use only clean processes in the manufacture of their products, and therefore the byproducts of their manufacture will cause no harm to life, human or otherwise. The same could be done with countless other industries. The space program likewise would find the lease harmful means of launching rockets, if it means finding alternative fuels, or launching most cargoes in unmanned rockets that are initially launched from a rail gun or giant cannon, which ever causes the least harm to the atmosphere. There is even hope of someday building a space elevator, which would raise cargo from the ground into space, and run of off electricity, or even using lasers to push ships into space. We can reshape our cities, our planet, and our society by adopting this philosophy. Also under this philosophy war, racism, etc could also be seen as things absolutely necessary to be eliminated as, their effect on the environment and human survival is just as severe as any technological accident, for what is war, but the absolute misuse of technology on one side or the other, and or the failure of people to come together and settle their differences.
Technophobia: is an abnormal fear of or anxiety about the effects of advanced technology, which confounds me since, technology does so much for society. In the last couple hundred years, the human life span has gone from around forty years, to close to eighty years for most people in industrialized nations. In this century, we could see the average life span reach over one hundred years of age.
Technology in of itself is neutral, it’s how it is put to use that make all the difference. The same technology that has put men on the moon, put satellites in space, placed the space station in orbit, and so many other important technological developments is also the same technology behind intercontinental missiles. Electricity can be used to light our homes, or it can be used to execute someone, that does not make it an inherently evil technology.
What needs to be done is, when we have a concern about possible misuses of a certain technology, is put guidelines in place to insure it’s not misused. Every day, people use countless chemicals that combined in the right quantities and combinations, result in a chemical bomb, as we seen in the Oklahoma Federal Building bombing on April 19 1995. The bomb used common industrial chemicals, such as fertilizer, solvent, etc to make their bomb, do we ban such items simple because they can be misused? No, we put in rules to keep tabs on new customers who make large purchases of such items, to insure they are not building a bomb, or limit the amount of such product that can be purchased at one time by an individual. This is similar to the rules for medications that can be used in crystal meth labs.
I look at the countless lives technology has changed for the better, those who have received new organs, how now they can simply go through the belly button, throat, and other openings in the body, so as to leave no scars. How now, they are developing bionic limbs that open and close when the person contracts the corresponding muscles on their limb. They are even working on artificial limbs that give tactile feedback, so the amputee, can feel hot, cold, and a since of touch from the artificial limb. They have given many deaf people the ability to hear with cochlear implants, and are now developing artificial eyes that give some people the ability to see. The cloning of organs is right around the corner, they have been able to clone several organs, and this can save countless people, as over fifty percent of those waiting for organs die while waiting for their organs. An organ cloned from your own stem cells has the added benefit of no rejection, so there would be no need for anti-rejection medication, or a weekend immune system for the rest of your life, or the increased chance of cancer from the compromised immune system.
I find a lot of the technophobia lies in the areas of food and medicine, to alleviate fears, and to insure our safety, rigorous testing of any new technologies should be required. In either case, when a medical product or a food product has negative side effects, it is our responsibility to stand up and demand something be done. However, even when we are informed, we often do nothing. Look at how many Americans and other people around the world still smoke, knowing full well smoking causes cancer. Even after the banning of Ephedrine, you can still find similar products on the shelves in stores, and advertised in magazines, and on TV. People are aware of the phrase, if it sounds too good, it probably is, but they rarely heed its warning. Look at how many people eat the largest burgers at the various fast food restaurants, knowing all too well that, a large burger, fries, and drink is a day’s calories or more.
As far as genetically modified food, I understand people’s fears, and I feel vigorous testing is mandatory. Genetic modification happens in the wild to a small degree, and humans have done it for millennia via breeding, just look at the countless dog, cat, and hoarse breeds we have created. Of course, genetic manipulation takes this to a higher level, and there may be some unexpected results, which is why there must be vigorous testing. If that industry is failing to do so, we need to crack down on the government and that industry, but it doesn’t make the technology inherently bad or evil. If you consider global warming and how researchers say, it could mean less bio-diversity. It might be necessary to engineer large trees that can deal with the warmer temperatures, to save our forests, and to continue to have an ongoing supply of lumber. Even though we are working on alternative fuels, and many other technologies to counter global warming, there may be some problems that only genetic engineering can solve, until we can cool the planet.
Of course, we should take every step to avoid any negative impact on humanity or any life when doing genetic engineering. Just as, we should take every step to avoid negative impacts from any technology, be it the use of petroleum products, mining natural minerals, or even from energy plants coal, nuclear, etc. So maybe rather than being like Chicken Little and running around declaring that the sky is falling, those who are technophobic could better serve humanity, by the advocating least harm as the philosophy of humanity. Through this philosophy for example, the electronics industry could be motivated to use only clean processes in the manufacture of their products, and therefore the byproducts of their manufacture will cause no harm to life, human or otherwise. The same could be done with countless other industries. The space program likewise would find the lease harmful means of launching rockets, if it means finding alternative fuels, or launching most cargoes in unmanned rockets that are initially launched from a rail gun or giant cannon, which ever causes the least harm to the atmosphere. There is even hope of someday building a space elevator, which would raise cargo from the ground into space, and run of off electricity, or even using lasers to push ships into space. We can reshape our cities, our planet, and our society by adopting this philosophy. Also under this philosophy war, racism, etc could also be seen as things absolutely necessary to be eliminated as, their effect on the environment and human survival is just as severe as any technological accident, for what is war, but the absolute misuse of technology on one side or the other, and or the failure of people to come together and settle their differences.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Technology Today
Today, there are new technologies being developed, and new achievements being pursued. The International Space Station is 90% complete, and the space shuttle will soon retire, only to be replaced with a new reusable vehicle. Computer chips will continue to get faster, smaller, and cheaper. Cell phones are about as powerful now, as desktop computers were in 2000, and those PCs could do virtually everything we do today. For example, my Droid cell phone by Motorola has a program for viewing and editing office documents, including PDF files. So, in addition to being a phone, a digital photo camera, a video camera, a multi-media PC, my phone is also a mobile office. Photos and video can even be streamed to social networking sites, such as facebook, myspace, etc. As soon as technology allows, I expect to see, phones with roll out screens as seen in the movie Red Planet, to provide a much bigger viewing area for multi-media content. These flexible OLED screens are already in development, and may even provide 3D video.
There are countless ways the technologies I have described have affected society, and will continue to effect society for the better. There will always be those who fear technological and scientific advancement, but hopefully that group will always be at the fringe, and will not able to influence society as a whole. This doesn’t mean we should not maintain a healthy dose of skepticism, when a new technology or discovery is placed before us. It must be tested, scrutinized, and evaluated, to insure its validity and soundness. We must also remember that, for every dollar spent on military or scientific research, we get seven dollars back towards the consumer sector. For example, high powered electro- magnets designed for scientific research, lead to the development of the MRI. The money spent on the shuttle program has already paid for itself in countless technological developments, just look at what we are learning from Hubble. With its much greater size and room for experimentation, I am sure the knowledge and in site gained from Space Station Freedom, will be even greater than from all prior shuttle missions. Space Station Freedom will be a jumping off point, for any manned mission to the Moon or Mars, not to mention countless zero gravity experiments. The results will undoubtedly affect countless fields of research, and effect humanity in ways we can’t even imagine.
That is unless humanity is dumb enough to wage more war, continue to destroy the environment, and run ourselves into extinction. It would be a sad fate if, humanity reached the brink of being a space traveling species, only to crumble into self destruction. There are technologies that turn the tide in our favor, but hard choices need to be made, and many people unfortunately are not willing to make such choices. Even with polar ice receding more and more every year, and the likely hood of no summer ice on the pole in the near future, politicians still argue over weather or not there is a problem, over what actions to take etc. This is even in light of the fact, all environmental scientists agree that, global warming is a fact, and it getting worse. The only area of disagreement is, to what extent the atmosphere is warming, and how far reaching the effects will be. It is the politicians with their agendas and special interest groups, who are manipulating the media, the public, and attempting to the scientific field itself. Big business also has been known to manipulate the media, politics, and science. The public needs to insist, weather its exaggerated product claims or toxic byproducts of industry, that industry uses good business practices. Likewise, we must insist that, our politician’s religious views and or business interests will not get in the way of good science or good policy making.
There are countless ways the technologies I have described have affected society, and will continue to effect society for the better. There will always be those who fear technological and scientific advancement, but hopefully that group will always be at the fringe, and will not able to influence society as a whole. This doesn’t mean we should not maintain a healthy dose of skepticism, when a new technology or discovery is placed before us. It must be tested, scrutinized, and evaluated, to insure its validity and soundness. We must also remember that, for every dollar spent on military or scientific research, we get seven dollars back towards the consumer sector. For example, high powered electro- magnets designed for scientific research, lead to the development of the MRI. The money spent on the shuttle program has already paid for itself in countless technological developments, just look at what we are learning from Hubble. With its much greater size and room for experimentation, I am sure the knowledge and in site gained from Space Station Freedom, will be even greater than from all prior shuttle missions. Space Station Freedom will be a jumping off point, for any manned mission to the Moon or Mars, not to mention countless zero gravity experiments. The results will undoubtedly affect countless fields of research, and effect humanity in ways we can’t even imagine.
That is unless humanity is dumb enough to wage more war, continue to destroy the environment, and run ourselves into extinction. It would be a sad fate if, humanity reached the brink of being a space traveling species, only to crumble into self destruction. There are technologies that turn the tide in our favor, but hard choices need to be made, and many people unfortunately are not willing to make such choices. Even with polar ice receding more and more every year, and the likely hood of no summer ice on the pole in the near future, politicians still argue over weather or not there is a problem, over what actions to take etc. This is even in light of the fact, all environmental scientists agree that, global warming is a fact, and it getting worse. The only area of disagreement is, to what extent the atmosphere is warming, and how far reaching the effects will be. It is the politicians with their agendas and special interest groups, who are manipulating the media, the public, and attempting to the scientific field itself. Big business also has been known to manipulate the media, politics, and science. The public needs to insist, weather its exaggerated product claims or toxic byproducts of industry, that industry uses good business practices. Likewise, we must insist that, our politician’s religious views and or business interests will not get in the way of good science or good policy making.
My first experiences with Technology
Before I started to build my blog, I sat down and considered, what the core them of my blog should be. I looked to where my major interests in life lie, I have always been fascinated by video games, computers, space exploration, and countless other technologies, since I was a child. So, I concluded that, my theme should be technology and innovation, and its impact on society. My first recollection of technology was as a child, when I viewed one of the final Apollo missions to the moon. I was struck by the realization that, humans were actually stepping foot on the moon I looked up at every night. At that young age, I even contemplated the possibility of humans stepping foot on other planets. Around this time, I discovered Star Trek in syndication, and have marveled over time, as technologies from the show have become fact. The show presented everything from solid state memory media, to flat screen monitors and personal computers.
As the space program continued to progress after the Apollo mission, its focus was for a short time on Sky Lab, the orbital space station. Then the shuttle program started, and it was Star Trek fans who staged a national campaign, to have the first shuttle namedEnterprise
While in early high school, I became aware new technologies, which were called video arcade games, home video game systems, and personal computers. The arcade games from back then, were no more than mono-color blocks and or lines of light on the video screen. Eventually, the graphics got better, but nothing like even the first Nintendo, let alone the beautiful graphics we see today on the X-box 360, Sony Playstation 3, and the Nintendo Wii. The home computers from my late teens had hard drives that held a mere 20 megabytes, which were 0.000019 the size of today's 1 terabyte drives. There are even USB thumb drives, which hold 256 gigabytes.
After high school, I have continued to watch the advancement of technology, have marveled at how much we have learned about the cosmos, about our own biology, and have marveled about how much we have learned about history and technology's place in it. I watched the launching of the Hubble Telescope, have watched probes and more recently Rovers land on Mars. I knew genetic engineering would be the future, but I had no clue as to how a controversial a subject it would be, or in the possibilities of how such technologies could be misused. The thought of discriminating against someone because, a DNA test revealed they may be predisposed to a disease or disorder, seemed outlandish, and still does. The best movie I have seen on the subject is Gattaca from 1997, it shows how those with a poorer genome could be subjugated to menial jobs and prevented from pursuing their goals in life.
Of course, there have been more Star Trek movies, including the latest which is sort of a retelling of how theEnterprise
Thanks for view, and enjoy reading.
As the space program continued to progress after the Apollo mission, its focus was for a short time on Sky Lab, the orbital space station. Then the shuttle program started, and it was Star Trek fans who staged a national campaign, to have the first shuttle named
While in early high school, I became aware new technologies, which were called video arcade games, home video game systems, and personal computers. The arcade games from back then, were no more than mono-color blocks and or lines of light on the video screen. Eventually, the graphics got better, but nothing like even the first Nintendo, let alone the beautiful graphics we see today on the X-box 360, Sony Playstation 3, and the Nintendo Wii. The home computers from my late teens had hard drives that held a mere 20 megabytes, which were 0.000019 the size of today's 1 terabyte drives. There are even USB thumb drives, which hold 256 gigabytes.
After high school, I have continued to watch the advancement of technology, have marveled at how much we have learned about the cosmos, about our own biology, and have marveled about how much we have learned about history and technology's place in it. I watched the launching of the Hubble Telescope, have watched probes and more recently Rovers land on Mars. I knew genetic engineering would be the future, but I had no clue as to how a controversial a subject it would be, or in the possibilities of how such technologies could be misused. The thought of discriminating against someone because, a DNA test revealed they may be predisposed to a disease or disorder, seemed outlandish, and still does. The best movie I have seen on the subject is Gattaca from 1997, it shows how those with a poorer genome could be subjugated to menial jobs and prevented from pursuing their goals in life.
Of course, there have been more Star Trek movies, including the latest which is sort of a retelling of how the
Thanks for view, and enjoy reading.
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