Technology, Society and Global Dominance and Human Development

Originally, I wanted to separate the two topics that were shared in class, but I changed my mind after typing the post because I find that both are very much interlinked.

First part of the lesson was about Technology, Society and Global Dominance. We learnt about the Roman Empire, its rise and its fall and also about the other powers such as China, and Islam. It was quite a history lesson. Then we talked about the different dimensions of dominance which I was quite surprise that dominance could be present is so many dimensions. Before this, I thought that dominance of a country (in particular), would be just its economic placing.

Then, professor shared with us "The Shahi Organizational Behavior Model of Identifying Innovation Leaders and Dominant Players". This was the part that captured my attention. I very much agree with his point of view, that as leaders (be it as an individual, a corporation, or a country), it is important to have an open mindset, and be willing to learn. Only then, you will continually be a rising star and a dominant player in the field.

If one has a closed perspective (like Arsenal, Haha), it would surely meet it's downfall.

This reminded me of the General Elections, that Mr Tony Tan's symbol is a spectacles, and his symbol is a pair of spectacles because"No one ever ruined his or her eyesight by taking a long term view". Very true indeed (in a way if you were to ignore the fact that people with long-sightedness needs to wear glasses also but it is a natural process that will happen).

Second part of the lesson was about Technology and Human Development.

Definition of Development - growth/advancement (positive).

Likewise, we learnt about the different dimensions of development, and that development is very much linked to World Change. After all, development IS change.

Education, Life Expectancy and Money are the key factors of the HDI, but what about the other factors that are non-measurable, or harder to measure, like the Happy Index or the political issuers that a country may have? This is a huge 'loophole' that the HDI has, but generally I feel that it has given the rough gauge.

With technology, humans have been developing. The question is, are some of us moving too fast that we leave our 'friends' behind? Like how the MDGs are not met yet when there is only 3 more years to go. Albeit being a more 'interconnected' as a world, it is very difficult for everyone to move/develop together. To put it in an ugly manner, there must be someone who is slower.

However, there are many cases now where instead of developing, some of the countries are going back downhill. Is this then fair to them? Is education and awareness the only way to make them know/learn?

Keypoint: Always keep an open-mind to whatever you do.

Rating: 8/10