The Final Frontier

This weeks we have the remaining groups with their wix presentation on various topic. I realized that most of the groups used www.wix.com for their web report due to its interactivity and ease of use. One key lesson i took away from the 12 weeks of TWC class is that we should be open and embrace new technologies, and by adopting such initiatives, we are able to share our knowledge with the rest of the world through new media. The web report, this blog and individual oral presentation are focused at one thing - a deeper understanding of the changing world and sharing of the knowledge. 


One quote I really love is "The main purpose of acquiring knowledge is to give it away" - SMU banner.


Apart from the key takeaway, there are several other skills that we picked up from this course. One that leaves the deepest impression would be that change is constant, and that we have to learn how to adapt or innovate to keep up. You can be the forerunner of a innovative change, or be a follower of the initiative, but one thing is for sure - that if you failed to improve yourself by adopting such best practices, you will lose out. It is true that we live in exponential times, the information that is provided to each individual in a day exceeds the consolidation of all information in the past since the dawn of civilization. We should use all these knowledge and avoid reinventing the wheel, so that mankind could proceed forward. As Stephen Hawks says, the final frontier is in space. I believe that once human has unlocked all the secrets that are in the world, we will seek to answer the mysteries of space and time.


Everything has to come to and end - life, the sun, TWC classes. However, space doesn't end, neither will learning. So push on and ask more question, because when we challenge ourselves with "why cant I.." and other dream that seem unreachable, it gives us direction to an influx of ideas and innovations.

Water for the World

We had a very interesting presentation today, which is to provide water for people around the world. Should water be accessible to everyone? Should clean water be accessible to everyone? I think yes. I believe that everyone has the rights to basic necessities like water, food and shelter. 


As the world economy grow, the gap between the rich and poor gets wider and wider. The ability to satisfy people who has high purchasing power will have a limit. As there are only that amount of luxury in the world, and that same amount of time a person can spend, a person who has a total networth of 1 billion dollars and 5 billion dollars will probably differ by an insignificant degree in lifestyle. However a person on the lower spectrum, a person who lives for $1 a day and a person who lives for $10 a day differs a lot. And that is only a tiny fraction of the billions of dollars people have in excess, either lying in bank or making more money. 


Here is an inspiring video on a person who ask for donations as birthday presents, so instead of buying him a gift, you give him money for his birthday so that he can bring people water:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rphhfy4qCfc

There are other technologies which countries such as Singapore use for getting water. One such is the Seawater desalination plant, which uses reverse osmosis. In short, it uses sea water as raw material, and the product is drinkable water. Although developing countries would not have the resources to build a water desalination plant now, such technologies should be accessible to them so that they are able to provide clean water for the masses. Developing countries should not make the mistakes that developed countries made, such as pollution and wastage or resources through trial and error, so the incentive for them is to share technologies. Water can also be used to drive turbines for produce electricity, such as those in those power plant that tap on hydroelectricity. However, i feel that Africa is a continent that should preserve it's natural habitat, and avoid too much urbanization and lose it touch with nature.

Another interesting thing from water is that Salt Water can actually fuel car or produce electricity. When a broadcast engineer focus a beam radio wave to salt water, it made the salt water burn and thus creating an alternative source of energy. As salt water is abundant, people could save precious resources such as coal and petrol, which are non-renewable fossil fuel for other uses. Right now, we are using very primitive method of using these fossil fuel, and we are just burning them to release energy. As a speaker Juan, from TED suggest, we should look at them not as chemical energy but as bioenergy. By combining fossil fuel with other organic compound, we are able to better utilize and produce energy.

Robotics & Technological Assessment

What I find most interesting in this week's lesson is also related to my individual topic review paper, which is Robotics. One that intrigues me is a video of a robot, that has brain cells of rats in it. The robot feeds information to the living cells that is kept alive, and the cells would give instructions to where the robot should move. Although simple, it is a clear demonstration of how biotechnology can be integrated with robotic engineering. 


It is interesting that how technology can be assessed in this way, such that an organisation will review through all the ideas generated to determine which is accepted or rejected. In some way, really good ideas will be buried deep in this system, where it will not see the light in shaping the future of the world we live in. The Japanese culture have a adoption rate of 60%, as compared to 10% in America. I feel that it is really healthy for automakers in Japan to take the suggestions of its workers as they are specialized in a single field, thus the suggestions that give are very valuable and have direct impact on the business. 


There are a few concepts that are deployed to assess technology, such as:

1. Parliamentary TA
2. Expert TA
3. Participatory TA
4. Constructive TA 
5. Discursive TA or Argumentative TA:
6. Health TA 

More information of these various technology assessment can be found in wikipedia, however I feel that there should not be one fixed form of technological assessment that is able to fit everything. Instead, a matrix should be given, such that the various factors from each of the 6 concepts are addressed.


This brings me back to my original topic of robotics. The initial motivation of introducing robotics to achieve automation in performing tasks is going down, and humans are "making-do" with their current standards. The demand for robots are mainly in the more developed countries like Japan, and research on it is limited to the investments. As mentioned, nanotechnology can be integrated with robotics to form nanobots, automated robots that are microscopic in size. They could be deployed in many areas such as the medical field, travelling through bloodstreams to cure illnesses.


I feel that as technology advances, more and more studies will fuse and cross path. The study of robotics and artificial intelligence will study the blueprint of life in-depth, such that it replicated the cells of living tissues. Robots will then have specialised "cells" and self-replicating nanobots, forming an organism very much alike humans. 

Future Technology

Today in class, we started off with a video on Claytronic. It is a revolutionary idea, where nano-scale technology is fused with computer science to create programmable atoms. These "atoms" can receive information and model a 3D object. The amazing part is not about how futuristic this concept is, but it shows that we are able to manipulate matter at such a small scale. Manipulation of matter at such atomic scale opens up a possibilities that were previously unattainable. For example objects can be built atom by atom, right from scratch where there would be no wastage of resources. Then the used object could be reprogrammed to be recycled to something else, saving the environment by consuming less resources.

"In term of the development of application of new and emerging technology, we are limited only by our imagination - and, all too often, the lack thereof", a quote from our professor. I do agree that we are only limited by our imagination, and nothing is unattainable. As we are able to see for ourselves, science-fiction concepts and theories are being realized today as we are empowered by the development of technology. This century that we live in, has experienced more scientific breakthrough than the total number of breakthroughs in human civilization. As technology is intertwined, a discovery or invention in a specific field can open doors to another. Development in electronic engineering can enhance the circuitry in maybe particle physics, and even biotechnology. Knowledge is built upon each other, where sharing of information is now so easy. Thus, I believe that we are not far from anti-matter propulsion or space-time manipulation, just like in science fiction, and just like how Stephen Hawking suggests how the final frontier for human is space travel. It would be just a matter of time, probably in the next century where more sci-fi concepts gets realized as technology is advancing in an exponential rate.

Another video that captured my attention is Augmented Reality. It is basically using computer aid to enhance the visual reception of the real world. As my blog address suggests, we are Technosapiens - Homo Sapiens that integrate with their highly evolved tools. Things like augmented reality and "Sixth Sense" from TED is going towards the direction where human will integrate technology into our lives, where we can make sense of our environment much better by connection to a database of knowledge. The theory of evolution suggest that all life forms adapt and the fittest survives, and it is pretty much prevalent in our society. Those who are the most resourceful and ahead of others using any form of enhancement (i.e. tools, technology, genetic engineering, etc) would survive better than the rest.

I believe that the greatest development in the next few decades would be biotechnology due to its sustainability, and computer science, where the ability to make use of existing hardware is greatly enhanced. The hardware that are available now is being developed towards a saturation point, slowing down as compared to decades ago. It would be a large market for software developers to mix and match, integrating their software to create extremely valuable technology. Augmented Reality and Sixth Sense are such examples, where everyday things like camera and processors are used. However, it is the technology that make sense of it all, and sieve data into information, and information to knowledge. As software can be accessed and developed by many creative mind in the world, I believe that it would be a playground where many much more creation will sprout, and shared with the world.

Eternal Energy

The world's consumption for energy is growing rapidly and the earth is unable to support these activities as finite fossil fuels are being depleted. Millions of tonnes of coal and crude oil are examples of fuel which are harvested from mother nature to support human activities, and they non-renewable as it takes millions of years to form. What we human are able to do is to find a sustainable source of energy, which can be renewed easily and cause less environmental damage. We also need to look at the existing coal and crude oil as bioenergy, rather than stored chemical energy and to use them in such primitive ways.


By the law of conservation, energy could not be created or destroyed. All source of energy comes from the sun, and naturally it would make sense if we harvest solar energy. However, it is still very difficult to harvest the sun's energy and switch it from our current way of providing energy to the masses due to financial and technological reasons. There are many alternative source of energy but the current "mine and burn coal" takes up the highest percentage because of existing processes and infrastructure. People would not spend extra money to produce the same amount of energy, it just doesn't make economic sense. However as people realise that fossil fuel will run out one day, and if we were to handle the situation later, the transition slope will be much steeper. 


The world's consumption of energy is less than 1,000 exajoules (EJ), with the primary energy usage at 487 EJ and electrical 56.7 EJ. Using the vast amount of resoruces made from selling fossil fuel, energy companies are investing into alternative energy which can tap on:
- Solar Energy (Sun produces 3,850k EJ of energy)
- Hydro / Tidal 
- Biomass (3k EJ)
- Wind (2.25k EJ)
- Geothermal 


One of the most radical ideas I came across is to have a satellite that concentrates solar energy and beam it to earth via microwave. However there are financial and technological issues to this source of energy. The next most viable and promising source of energy is biological. As I have covered during class, bioDiesel that are derived from algae are very promising because they are a renewable source of energy. The algae captures the sunlight during photosynthesis and reproduce, with no high-tech know-hows needed because nature does it work of producing energy.


Ethanol from corn are also using biotechnology. And because our planet is filled with abundance of plant life which are able to tap solar energy, biofuel can be farmed to large quantities to feed the need for fuel consumption. Another possible source of energy in development is using salt water. Salt water is also very abundant, and using this technology, we don't even have to grow our own fuel as it covers over 70% of Earth. Although we are able to find alternative source of energy, human should also make energy consumption as efficient as possible. By pushing the limit of how much distance a car can travel with the same amount of fuel makes energy consumption more efficient.

In conclusion, to make energy eternal, a viable source of energy must replace our current use of fossil fuel which is sustainable. We might find alternatives for portal fuel (petrol, gas) but the challenge still lies ahead with providing cities with huge amount of energy to power homes and industrial plants.

Sustainable Earth

Currently the world is depleting resources faster than it could be replenished. It is a very dangerous task as we are destroying the source of our resources, which might end up losing them forever. There is the normal scope of looking into non-renewable resources such as fossil fuel, but there is another field which is biodiversity. By selective breeding plants and animals, we risk those species by concentrating the gene pool. The entire species might be wiped out by diseases due to the small gene pool, which does not have the immunities from diversification. That is why we should focus on sustaining the bio diversification and the environment, so that natural habitats would not be destroyed for human activities.

As we know from Gun, Germs and Steel, food plays a crucial role in the development of science and technology. However, with the growing population, the earth might not be able to support the agricultural activities which need arable land for food as well as fuel. The world’s production of food might be enough for the world’s population, however there is disparity in the distribution; hence world hunger is still a problem. Plumpy’Nut, as presented in class by our guest lecturer, is a good way to nourish people who lives in poverty and has malnutrition. I find that this is just a temporal solution to the root problem, very much like putting a stopper on a leaking tap. To solve the root problem, economically strong countries should not take advantage of the products that is produced by such countries. There should be a price floor to protect their welfare, so that they would have accessibility to daily necessity like food, water and sanitation.

The idea of growing meat in laboratories is appealing, such that we are able to grow other body parts for replacement. However growing meat for human consumption just takes too much resource, as compared to breeding them in farms. I believe that if the lab meats are able to be grown using less resource than the normal farm bred meat, and then it would be a good substitute as it lowers the overall consumption on earth’s resource. As we know energy could not be created or destroyed, we should retain as much energy as possible to prevent wastage. However, before the lab meats can be used for consumption, test and trails must be made so that it remains in health and food regulations. Genetically engineering (GE) meat or plants should be accepted as they are isolating bad genes, and adding useful ones. The process of GE does not add any chemicals which most people have misconception. One day human can also be genetically modified to remove bad genes such as cancerous cells and diabetes.

On the issue of conservation of energy, the sun is the only provider. So in order to have a sustainable form of energy, sunlight must be harvested to add on to the “energy level” of the earth. And since animals are unable to convert light into food, plants must be used to produce energy through photosynthesis. I believe that using plants for fuel is a viable source of energy as it is renewable. I did a presentation on Algae Biodiesel, which explains the benefits of using such technology. It is able to produce more energy per acre of land than any other plants, thus giving a higher yield in biodiesel with enough arable land used for growing food. There isn’t a real clash in interest for growing food and fuel in this case, which benefits the entire earth as a whole. 

BioTechnology

Bio technology is a really interesting topic; it covers everything that is living – from the microscopic cell inside your body to the bio diversity in the planet. We may never solve the mystery of how did life ever form on earth, be it a sheer chance of chemical compound in the sea in the ideal situation, panspermia , or  god’s creation, but we can study and improve on what we know.

We know that our health is a study of the human biology, and the lifespan of human is getting longer and longer. As technology in the medical field advances due to Research and Development as well as the availability of electronic products and information sharing, people get to enjoy the fast pace of medical marvels that was previously considered far-fetched. However, will this make humans grow reliant on such technology that they would adopt the “do what you want now, repair broken parts later” attitude? When times were difficult in the past, humans get by with what they have and work harder, leading a much healthier lives than our present desk workers. Right now, we are either too busy or lazy to maintain a proper diet and exercise regime that we grow so reliant when we fall sick.

It is a good thing that modern medical devices as discussed in class actually provide pre-emptive solution, as the saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure”. These devices monitor the person’s health, checking for tell-tale signs of the development of any diseases with its database of information. It will then update the hospital via the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system. This way, people are able to lead a healthier life by doing more of what is good for their health and avoiding pitfalls. With that said the user must accept this system and use it on a regular basis for it to work. Technology is easy, humans are just plain lazy.

Another thing we discussed in class is Genetic Engineering. Chimpanzees is said to have 99% similarity (the figure has dropped to 96% ) in DNA and banana 50%. Then it occurs to me that since banana is 50%, I believe a large percentage of the genetic codes are information on life itself – like cell structure, multi-cellular organism, binary fission, etc. The remaining information would then determine your physical attribute, behavior, intelligence, etc. Although the codes of biotechnology are hard to break, scientists are working on it. Hopefully humans are able to decipher the genetic codes and give superhuman ability such as the regenerative tissue of plants.

One thing that really amazes me is the guest lecturing section where our classmate introduce us the formation of a synthetic beating heart from cells. Cells are put in a regular inkjet printer and start printing out a 3D heart. Amazingly, the heart works. With such technology, soon people are able to find body part replacements or even do cloning with the transfer of their conscious mind to the clone. Who knows what the future hold, technology is always changing. We might even live like other social creature in the future with telepathic/psychic abilities when we unlock and use more than the 10% of our brain – the physical manipulation with the mind.