Group Presentations 1
This week’s seminar was conducted in a different manner as the previous seminars. There were 3 group presentations.
1) Technology and Beauty
This presentation was about what technology has done to beauty. In the past, people who disliked their looks could not do anything about it. However, today, people are able to alter their looks to the perfect manner they want it to be. This is made possible through cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery is usually performed to correct a physical abnormality or to enhance an otherwise normal physical feature and thus improve appearance. Several celebrities have undergone cosmetic surgery to make themselves look more attractive. The girls in popular Korean pop group Girls’ Generation (SNSD) have been alleged to have undergone plastic surgery. In fact, it is not unusual to hear of such allegations since the number of people going under the knife is increasing. I am rather concerned about this trend because I feel that people should not abuse this technology just to look better. If the person has undergone a tragic incident which distorted her/his looks, it is justifiable for her/him to undergo plastic surgery as this would allow them to regain acceptance, especially around those who discriminate them because of their looks. However, if the person is undergoing plastic surgery in order to look more charming, I find it rather unjustified. If everyone undergoes plastic surgery, there will be a time when almost everyone looks similar. I can’t envisage that happening. Hence, I think that Man should not misuse this technology.
2) Technology and Crime: Friend or Foe?
Technology has always been a double edged sword. Although the Internet has brought to us immense benefits, it has also created several problems, one of which is cybercrime. Malware is an example of cybercrime. Malware is software designed to secretly access a computer system without the owner's informed consent. So, once one’s computer is affected by malware, the criminal would be able to access whatever information he wants from one’s computer. This is extremely dangerous as confidential information stored in the computer might be leaked out, bringing out severe consequences. Malware is most commonly spread from criminals to users in the form of e-mails and the World Wide Web. Hence, it is vital that we stay vigilant when browsing the Internet. We should not fall for scams which claim to give us “free” gifts etc. This way, we would not fall prey to these criminals. Given the prevalence of cybercrime in our society, it is imperative that Internet security is stepped up. Perhaps the governments could come up with a common global policy to combat this.
3) Water and Water Technologies
Water is no doubt one of the most precious natural resources around as well as the resource that we need the most in our daily lives. Not only do we need water for our own consumption, we also need it for cooking, washing etc. Water is indeed an indispensable resource in our lives. Hence, it is crucial that we ensure that it is sustainable. The increasing demand for water today raises the question if the future generations would have enough water. As such, water technologies have been invented to solve these problems. Examples of such technologies are desalination, reverse osmosis, hyflux technology etc. Although technology provides the opportunity for us to alleviate the shortage of water, I feel that it is not the panacea to the problem. Besides the high costs of using these technologies, I think that the main cause of the problem of water shortage is Man’s selfishness. If Man is able to compromise their needs and not overuse the existing water available, the problem of water shortage will be solved. However, this scenario would be too idealistic.
Overall, I would rate the session 7.5/10. My key takeaway for this session: technology can never be the panacea to be the existing problems we have now because in the end, it delves down to Man. If Man is willing to compromise their needs (such as not overusing water, not abusing the use of plastic surgery), then perhaps the existing problems would no longer be problems. As prof mentioned in the very first session of TWC, “Technology is easy. People are hard.” It really depends on how you use it!
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