Tag: Science in Society

Enduring trends

Technologists are enthusiasts. Their progress are documented in hockey-stick trends. Meanwhile  we as ordinary human are still reacting out of fear as if we were still living in caves. The reptilian brain vs rapid rise of chip speed, guns vs germs, technology vs anthropology!

As early as 1950’s, graduates would hear something like: “boy, you get that desk job, stay there, work your way up and cash out . You will be set, boy.” In short, seniority and being an institutional memory keeper equal “iron rice bowl”.

Not in the 21 century. Take Yahoo. A darling of Silicon Valley (I am still using yahoo mail, reliable), but increasingly, moving into the slot left vacant by AOL. (Facebook, if not careful, might fall into the MySpace hole).

When I took Science, Technology and Society at Penn State in my senior year, I realized then that not all technology were meant to take off, or were a blessing. They are both blessing and curse. (I must give the US Post Office some credits for converting its entire fleet to Electric Vehicles a years back).

These trends will stay with us:

– socks (short or long)

– jeans

– baby pics, mobile apps

– slow rock (romantic)

– sunset, virtual or real

– kind words, kind gesture, roses

– birthday cakes

– tomb stones or equivalent if cremated

– shoes, shorts and sandals

– contact lenses (as flat screens)

– vitamins, although God knows what they put in there.

The Economist has its cover story this week about our human body, as composed of bacteria cells.

But how come those bacteria got vibrated with Streisand’s Evergreen? With Nocturne? Chopin and Bach?

Until technologists learned that we are more complex than the mind can understand, then they get somewhere.

Invent only that which benefits mankind, stuff that people can use. Don’t chase lab stuff only. Solve  problems:

how to get your hair done the quickest way in the morning, how to get to work using the best route, nearest gas station that charges less (or use EV) glove compartment that can store today’s aviation sun glasses, games that kids can play and learn something while at it, profile  algorithms that make friends out of strangers. Science, Technology and Society. When they plugged in the electricity for the first time at the Chicago fair, many thought it had been Heaven. Now, we took it for granted. Let’s hope for some break-through, even when many will fail. Try again. Keep in mind, the reptilian brain. How we still react like cavemen. Still love like cavemen. And yes, jealousy still is a big part. Those are enduring trends you can bet on.

Start from the start

Science has just made a great leap.

Congratulations. They have discovered the equivalent of DNA of the universe. Named it Higgs, after the scientist.

This lifts the burden off our shoulders: we are not faceless random masses.

If there are DNA’s, there are designs and destination (you might not like it if it’s not to your preferences).

But at least, not random. There is trajectory of time, of predictability and hopefully, rationality.

Things make sense.

Causes and consequences albeit with doubt in between (why Evil seems to have its field day, for instance).

Then, unintended consequences: divorce fall-out, disruption of technology ….

Kids suffer.

Vicious cycle . In Vietnam, the saying goes “cha an man, con khat nuoc” (the Dad sowed, but the children reap).

Before this discovery, we all intuitively sensed that there were order in the universe. Just couldn’t prove it.

But we hum along when hearing “Rhythm of the rain.”

Even the heat waves.

Then the cycle of war (Disputes in the China Sea… rumbles in the MidEast)

There are seasons in the sun. Time to fight, time to make peace.

Underneath it all, lies the DNA, and the Higgs.

Fundamental of fundamentals.

Healing and destruction.

And someday, completion, at least, for us, one by one.

At some point, each of us must stop and ponder: what is life.

Multiple flavors. Wrapped up in one package from the start: our moment of birth. No expectation, no preconception, no reflection. All future. Good start  right from the start.

Start thinking

This is the last of the Trilogy: Start seeing, start hearing and start thinking.

It’s the hardest, because the end product of thinking is acting.

Acting means change. Change brings dissonance and discomfort.

Our faculty is quite limited: we are conditioned to respond in Pavlovian way.

Group think. Similar to   Adam Smith’s unseen hand that regulates the market, there are underpinnings that regulate our thinking e.g. sub-conscious, upbringing, gene pool and the times we live in.

We find ourselves respond instinctively to rising gas price, to the latest poll and pulse.

Independent and critical thinking require courage of conviction.

Men are social animals.

The thinking man is boxed in and labeled as “philosopher”.

The image is quiet nerdy.

Reclusive and esoteric.

Who wants to hang out with all-hair guy whose response seems to have a built-in three-second delay.

Not fast enough.

We want automatic and reflexive feedback (like an vacation auto reponse email).

Preferably measurable one.

From A to B, we draw a shortest line.

Philosophers and physicists don’t necessary agree with this.

To them, there are various shades of grey.

We rather live as common people and seek comfort in numbers.

To think different is to be isolated, if not ostracized.

Yet we need thinking men and women.

They question how we should then live.

Is this the best way to look at things.

Is this THE way or just one of the many ways.

What are some other ways to skin a cat.

Unless we learn to think for ourselves, others will do for us.

Conformity by default (same with no-show during an election).

Being self-disruptive is an antidote to social decline.

Start thinking. It hurts at times.

It is lonely as well.

But it’s healthy and in the long-term, that’s the only way to survive in an age of intelligent machine.

Software will eat our lunch. But we can still use software to prepare our tomorrow’s lunch.

If we start thinking. Hard. Now. Before it’s too late. The greatest tragedy in life is wasted talent (implied THINKING).