Session 1: Technology and the Rise of Civilizations

Brief overview/summary:

My first ever Technology and World Change session and of course I had to do my own research on the whole idea of this course and the professor so as to give me a heads up. Many have told me that being in Prof Gurider's class = relatively much more work than other TWC classes' and honestly it did give me quite a scare.

Today's session was a good way to start the ball rolling for TWC as it gives us the background on how technology itself has evolved over time as well as how it has helped mankind evolve - through the rise of civilisations. We also managed to watch episode one of Guns, Germs and Steel (GGS for short) and it is very insightful to me how Diamond uses these three specific aspects in understanding how technology has impacted the world. I have never seen technology or the world in these aspects as technology to me mostly consists of the electronic aspects of my life, i.e. my phone/laptop, television, washing machine and one I take for granted the most, the light bulb. 

Interesting Observations and Ideas

• In the GGS video that we watched during class, one of more interesting observation I gleaned was the question Yali posted to Diamond. "Why do you white people have so much cargo whereas we (the people of New Guinea) have so little?" and Prof explained that it was due to the difference in advancement of technology in America as compared to New Guinea that led to the stark contrast in cargo. It seemed like technology was the sole reason for this difference. This made me think about the other possible factors that may have contributed to the difference. Does not culture, which then translates to the different needs each culture has or the environment (i.e. the availability of natural resource to "create something" or the nurturing environment that allows for technology to be invented) play a role in the difference in advancement of technology for any two countries as well?
• I also ask myself if the reason for advancement in technology was due to demand or supply? For countries that were able to begin civilization, was there a lack in their pre-civilisation period which caused them to move forward technologically and on the flip side the New Guineans did not feel there was anything lacking or missing which hence made them feel comfortable with their lives and halted advancement in technology (indicating demand, or lack of). Or was it the idea that technology was able to help them progress that allowed these people to continually work towards advancing their current state of technology (indicating supply)?
• Something interesting that Prof mentioned that might be unrelated to "technology". He mentioned that a lot of materials are very euro centric and that is due to the fact that they were the ones that write world history and we are looking at history from their perspective. An interesting fact on this issue is that during the Cold War of 1945 to 1997 , the world history was written as what the British and Americans thought it was from their point of view. However, when the USSR collapsed and they began to embrace the idea of openness, world history was completely re-written as the Russians now showcase their side of the story and many assumptions that the British/Americans assumed of the Russians were wrong.

Key Takeaway Points

• Is technology the sole reason for modern civilization? This question still bugs me as having taken sociology in term one, I know for one that there are many reasons why societies are what it is now and my quest during this course of time in TWC is to find out if the presence technology is the root issue of inequality in the world. 
• Another video that we saw in class was Shift Happens and I later went on to search for the updated statistics. (Did You Know? Facebook would be the THIRD LARGEST country in the world if it is one!) It is really fascinating how rapid technology is and even nowadays, we incorporate technology into school (like writing on this blog for instance) and how technology is able to facilitate so many other aspects of our lives (conducting real time video conferencing even if there is a twelve hour time difference and even finding your soul mate online even if they are separated by oceans.) Technology will be invading (for a lack of better word) more portions of our lives and it is here to stay. It is important for us to understand how it has come about and how will it continue to evolve in order for us to benefit from the marvellous discoveries technology will bring to mankind. Therefore, I feel that TWC, especially under Prof's guidance will be a fruitful one :) Here is an interesting link that I found while reading up more on technology which I found was really fascinating! 

Issues for Further Discussion 

• I feel that in relation to the rise of civilization, we could have used one specific country as a case study and understand it in more depth how technology has helped or did not help them in modernising. As these ideas are very abstract, being the first lesson of TWC, I felt that it would be good to have a more concrete evidence as to how technology really did help in the rise of civilization.  
• In the beginning of the lesson, we had a round of ice breakers and many indicated that they did not know anything about technology and world change. I felt that Prof could have engaged us through maybe a simple video that covered all the different aspects of technology that will be covered in the course and from there maybe we would have a better idea on what TWC so that we are able to have a heads up on the true essence of this course.

Personal Ratings for Session 

I would give it a 6/10 so that there will be more room for a higher score in the next lesson! :)

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To sum up, I found this interesting picture on Google on how technology has changed so fast that in the 1990s we have so many (look at how bulky each of them are!) gadgets, each for different purpose. In a short span of ten years, all these have been replaced by a single gadget! Definitely relatable to me :)