This week's session marks the start of group presentations. Instead of the prof bringing us through the lesson, my classmates will be teaching us new stuff. Quoting Alfred North Whitehead, "Wisdom
alone is true ambition's aim, wisdom
is the source of virtue and of fame; obtained
with labour, for mankind employed, and then, when most you share it,
best enjoyed". I feel this methodology is really beneficial in one's learning, giving us a broad perspective of various areas of technology change.
The first group really did a wonderful presentation, setting the bar high. The topic discussed was futuristic buildings, looking into sustainability, susceptibility, space, speed and design of these future infrastructures.
Sustainability of future buildings is extremely important due to the rapid depletion of our energy sources. Currently, more and more buildings are going green and i feel that this is new direction future architecture will move into. One such example in Singapore is the City Square Mall, the first "green mall" in Singapore. The mall's saves water by using waterless urinals, and condensate water from air conditioning system is recycled, saving vast amount of water. The mall is also energy efficient, using air conditioning systems that are highly efficient. The lightings in the mall are also derived largely from natural light from the sun, reducing the dependency on electricity for lights. In the future, I see even more improvements to take our buildings more sustainable.
The second group presented on clean energy. This is definitely in line with one of our biggest concerns today- the depletion of fossil fuels. Since we found this effective source of energy, we have been extracting and burning these energy sources at an alarming rate. Most technologies around us runs on these energy sources. It is therefore crucial we find alternative energy sources that are sustainable. I think the future energy source will be largely dependent on the situation of the various nations. For a small country like Singapore, situated near the equator, the most efficient source of sustainable energy is no doubt solar energy. We have no land to grow crops for biofuel or to build a nuclear power plant, without jeopardising the lives of the citizens. In a country like Russia, with vast amounts of uninhabited land, nuclear energy could be on key source of sustainable energy. Of course with with energy source there are side effects. We therefore need to come up with more reliable technologies to help alleviate these side effects to the largest extent possible.
The third group presented on nanotechnology. They had a very interesting introduction with helped to lighten the mood in the class. Using something small to have a great impact on society. The most interesting segment for me was the use of nanotechnology for cancer. In recent years, the occurrences of cancer has been increasing at an alarming rate. The age of cancer patients also has been steadily decreasing. With greater exposure to radiation in our daily lives, the cure for cancer has became an priority in the medical fields. Using nanotechnology can potentially safe many lives. However, like any piece of technology, people definitely tend to misuse them. Nanotechnology is extremely small and can be very hard to regulate. The effects can thus be extremely devastating. Imagine countries having war using nanotechnology. Weapons that can go into our bodies and destroying our systems without us even realising it. It is important to therefore always weigh the pros and cons of the technologies that we wish to promote.
In conclusion i felt that using of websites to present is extremely refreshing. From this experience, i managed to learn how to create a website and it is certainly a skill i picked up which can be used in other subjects. I give this lecture a rating of 8/10!
The third group presented on nanotechnology. They had a very interesting introduction with helped to lighten the mood in the class. Using something small to have a great impact on society. The most interesting segment for me was the use of nanotechnology for cancer. In recent years, the occurrences of cancer has been increasing at an alarming rate. The age of cancer patients also has been steadily decreasing. With greater exposure to radiation in our daily lives, the cure for cancer has became an priority in the medical fields. Using nanotechnology can potentially safe many lives. However, like any piece of technology, people definitely tend to misuse them. Nanotechnology is extremely small and can be very hard to regulate. The effects can thus be extremely devastating. Imagine countries having war using nanotechnology. Weapons that can go into our bodies and destroying our systems without us even realising it. It is important to therefore always weigh the pros and cons of the technologies that we wish to promote.
In conclusion i felt that using of websites to present is extremely refreshing. From this experience, i managed to learn how to create a website and it is certainly a skill i picked up which can be used in other subjects. I give this lecture a rating of 8/10!
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