#1

Hello, world!
Just to give a brief introduction about myself, since I only recently managed to bid into the course and missed the first lesson:
My name is Michelle Darmawan, freshman from SOB.
I was from Catholic Junior College, arts stream. My past work experiences include administrative duties and a part-time job at Marina Bay Sands in the theater department.

This blog post will just contain some of my general opinions on technology and what I hope to learn from the class.

What do I expect from the class?
After reading up on last week's lesson slides, I expect that this course can provide me valuable insight into the various ways in which technology is constantly changing and how it will impact us both positively and negatively in the future. However more than this, I expect that the class will also teach me to think more critically about today's world issues and to anticipate such issues in the future.

What I currently know about technology is that it is an intricate part of our lives that we cannot deny. Sometimes sub-consciously, we have become so dependent on technology and we realize this when technology fails on us. When the internet connection breaks, we find ourselves spending time trying to identify the problem and configuring the network so that it will function properly again. I believe no one in Singapore ever leaves the house without his or her phone, it has become so vital we remember it even before we remember our wallets (unfortunate personal experience ._.).
Why is it that we are left stranded when the technology we depend on is absent? Could we not resort to good old ways to go about our lives instead?

Maybe because the reason is precisely because there is no other way.
This is a strong assertion, but I feel that it is true.
Technology is not only useful but also convenient, so much so that it has become indispensable.
We use the internet for virtually anything (pun intended): studying, interacting, entertainment... the list goes on. Even right now, what I am doing now with relation to technology is a platform to enrich my learning experience. Definitely, technology is being integrated tightly into our lives and will continue to do so, especially with higher technology being developed now (e.g. nanotechnology, green technology).

And yet, technology also has its negative imposes on the world today. Man is a highly intelligent creature. He is able to think, create and innovate. And this intelligence can benefit as well as harm. The more technology develops, the more potential it has to harm.
Not just on a global scale (such as the invention of nuclear bombs), but also on a personal level. Technology in Korea allows people to control everything in the house with just one remote control, just one lift of a finger. This is convenience beyond what I am personally comfortable with. There should always be a limit to how much we let technology be a part of our lives, definitely not to the extent of it BECOMING our lives instead.
Technology is a double-edged sword, and really it is up to us to decide how we want to use this power that is technology and knowledge.

I am looking forward to tomorrow's lesson, where I can finally be engaged in discussions and post more insightful and relevant entries on Technology & World Change.

Until then, my fellow intelligent creatures.