Week 1

Brief Thoughts
Having just concluded our first lesson of Technology and World Change, Professor Gurinder Shahi and students alike raised poignant and thought provoking questions with regards to the above-mentioned.

The first part of the lesson had students sharing their opinions on Technology and World Change. Many students automatically assumed that Technology was synonymous with Information Technology (IT), specifically the latest and newest gadgets that were in easy reach. This prompted Professor Singh to ask the question whether the word: "Technology" necessarily meant IT or electronic gadgets.

Technology
In fact, technology is simply application of knowledge to improve practical aspects of our lives. One of the take-away points that I have discerned is that technology is in fact one of the traits that sets mankind apart from the rest of the animal kingdom.

Guns, Germs and Steel
For the next part of the lesson we saw a brief documentary from National Geographic about Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel". This was immediately familiar to me, as I have seen the documentary before. It tackled the obvious yet difficult question of why certain civilisations managed to advance far more quickly than others.

Through further discussions between Professor Shahi and the students, another take-away point from the lesson was that civilisations had to remain open to trade, new ideas and technology or risk being left behind in the technological race.

Further Thoughts
I would have liked to further discuss the geographic positions of ancient civilisations that gave them natural advantages to prosper quickly, such as the existence of ancient civilisations near major rivers and tributaries. 

For example, the Nile River for the ancient Egyptian civilisation and the Yangtze River for China, which not allowed the flourishing of agriculture, but also opened up the respective regions to trade via the rivers, in an era before the railway and sea routes.

Closing Thoughts
I would rate the session as an 8; I managed to gain several new insights and a much-needed refresher on Jared Diamond's book. I would have appreciated greater student participation, in voicing their opinions on the issues at hand.