Lesson 1.1 - 5th November

Session 11 was the second last session of TWC! One more session and we're done and out. Wow, I'm in the "let's get this done and over with" mood. Let's march on fellow students of TWC.

Instead of the usual individual presere innovative method than the traditional report writing on microsoft word document. I enjoyed the web report, since the decoration and formatting made the report a much more enjoyable read. My group, 6 people of diverse school background, chose waste management  as our topic of discussion. Do visit our web report for more information on waste management, in Singapore's context and its future by clicking on the link: http://dsweida.wix.com/bashthebin. In the midst of focusing on our topic we tried to place emphasis on the future instead of the current practices implemented. The group discussions were enriching as I delve into the policies implemented. Waste management plays a pivotal role in Singapore, especially since this is a small country vying to gain a reputation as a clean and green environment.

That aside, it was evident that other groups put in great effort on their web report as well. All in all, there were a total of 4 topics discussed:
1. Sanitation
2. Waste Management
3. Genome Mapping
4. Future Criminal Identification Methods

 The first group covered the sanitation services and facility. The group went in depth, by differing the availability of sanitation in developed as well as less developed countries. Here, it is evident that technology forecasting and assessment come into play as the group delve into the new and improved technologies, which will better the current systems based on the level of efficiency, usage and cost- based on current technologies.

My group went next. After we presented our web report on waste management, prof suggested ways to improve and better our report. I believe his input was imperative as our report lack depth on the future technologies of waste management in Singapore. Thankfully, my group took his criticism in our stride, and we implement necessary changes.

The third group discussed genome mapping which allows parents to alter the characteristics of their baby, in terms of ability as well as physical appearance. I believe this technology has huge potential, however we have to consider the ethical implications. By implementing all these alterations, wouldn't the babies lose their sense of originality? In my opinion, such technologies can be categorized under sci-fi technology. By adjusting the characteristics of these babies, isn't it the same as creating robots? By creating robots, we are given the option to choose the functionalities adopted. Similarly, these babies are altered according to desired functionalities. The ethical implication in this case, can be heavy.

Lastly, the group with the most intriguing and fascinating presentation was the group that presented the future criminal identification methods. This group presented a skit, showing the different technologies currently implemented to identify criminals. However, the group based the future of such technologies based on sci-fi movies such as minority reports. This got me thinking, in fact, movies play an imperative role in shaping the future of technology. Movies plant this seed on imagination, which navigate the innovations towards making these 'imagined ideas' a reality.

All in all, I rate this lesson a 7 out 10. Despite the various takeaways gained, basing the presentation on a website instead of the traditional powerpoint, was a new process which was faced with several obstructions. However, the session got my looking forward to the next lesson which is the last session!