Science and Technology

Many people have questioned: Is Science and Technology created by Man to replace God? With the constant improvements and developments of Science and Technology, Man is able to master its physical environment and everything is within Man's grasp of knowledge. For example, during the Stone Age, way before the Industrial Revolution or the development of Science and Tech, Man used to believe that rain was an act of God. Rain meant that God was crying, Earthquakes meant that God was angry and the list goes on. Man could not explain the natural disasters or phenomenons taking place, thus God was the answer to everything. Not too long later, Science and Technology was introduced to the world. The water cycle was the answer to rain, which took over the explanation of "God is crying". Thus, it is clearly shown that Science and Technology has taken over God. Another example would be artificial canals. The Suez Canal is an example of a man-made canal. It is the main trade route between the European countries and Asian countries. This proves that Man has used Science and Technology to alter the physical geography for their convenience, therefore reducing the status of God and increasing the status of Science and Technology. Thus, it is an established fact that Science and Technology has indeed taken the place of God. However, the question is whether it is right to do so. Nobody has the answer to this question thus far, only time will tell.

Science and Technology

In the increasingly technology-reliant world we live in, the question of ethics and deprivation of life would be an issue. In the future not too far away, cloning for humans would be possible. This would allow humans to harness their organs from the clones. However, are clones just machines that contain living cells created to help humans, or are they living things, just like you and me? Do they have human rights? As depicted in the movie, "The Island", the living clones would be killed and their organs removed when their clients, or more specifically their creators, needs an organ. Thus, it is questionable if it is ethical to kill a living organism just like that. It is also unclear whether controlling the lives of the clones and depriving them at a chance of life is unfair to them. Clones, being living organisms, would be able to think just like normal human beings. However, whether they would be classified as a human remains to be seen. Also, cloning animals still has a very low rate of success, much less for humans. Thus, it is currently an expensive procedure despite much funds pumped into the research of this field. However, medical science should aim to make treatment affordable to the main population, instead of having the aims of expanding one's lifespan and for personal fame and glory. This is a very selfish act which cloning would only be available to those who are rich and can afford it. This would further widen the gap between the poor and the rich, which would bring about more social problems.

Science and Technology

Ethical controversies have risen over the past century as technology advances with each passing of the day. There would always be different extremes to the subject of ethics. Thus, it may be seen as a war between what is morally right and wrong, and what is legally acceptable and what is not. Firstly, it is important to establish the fact of practical reasons, that science and technology would always have a practical use or reason. It could range from the need to cure a disease, replacing a limb to travelling to the moon and communicating with others. Thus, technologies such as antibiotics, spacecrafts and satellites are invented for a reason. Every creation marks a new milestone for the development of science and technology, as well as a breakthrough for the field of study. However, people would have practical objections - against how people are exploring science and technology. There would definitely be people who are doubtful and questions the science and technology of the modern era. In this day and age, despite being technologically advanced, it is still far from perfection. The rate of success is debatable amongst people, and some people may disagree that all modern technologies work. This is clearly a point of discussion for cloning. It took 276 tries before scientists managed to clone the infamous Dolly the sheep on 5th of July 1996. Even then, after countless efforts and succeeding eventually, Dolly the sheep developed early arthritis and died, prematurely and unnaturally aged. This proves that even after succeeding in cloning, the cloned subject may still be deformed or mutated. Therefore, it proves that science and tech may not be the best solution after all.

Science and Technology

The development and constant improvement of technology has brought about much convenience in our daily lives. This has also brought us much power to communicate efficiently and effectively across boarders. However, there are many people who abuse the authority of usage of the Internet and decides to hack and steal information from a corporation. A good example would be the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, who hacked into the secure network of various countries' government and reposting the confidential information onto the Internet. Hence, it clearly illustrates that the knowledge of science and technology, when fallen into the wrong hands, may have unimaginable consequences. "With great power comes great responsibility". This raises the issue of safety and dangers of the modern technology. With knowledge of mass destruction, countries have become arrogant and complacent, thus undermining world peace and security that the United Nations have been fighting for all this while. Hence, it is important to be responsible for one's actions if one is heavily armed.

Updates on Youth Olympic Games

It has been a few days into the Youth Olympic Games, and I must really say it is a resounding success that was beyond my imagination! I felt that the Opening Ceremony and the events up till now have been carried out rather smoothly, and there has been a rather positive response to the crowd. Before that, tickets sales have not been rather good, and usually half of the seats in the arena are empty. This does not reflect well on the host country, hence the Singapore National Olympic Committee had launched a new scheme to resell tickets that were unsold before the match started. Thus, many people were able to watch Singaporeans in action, as well as top youth athletes from all over the globe. When the President of the Olympic Committee visited Singapore, Rogges said that it was very successful, which has boosted Singapore's reputation internationally. However, to my disappointment, Singapore's sole representative at the badminton competition had been knocked out by Malaysian Loh Wei Sheng. It was very regretful that Singapore was unable to win a medal in the badminton event. In other events, Singapore took home a silver and bagged 3bronzes so far. In conclusion, I wish all the athletes participating in the Youth Olympic Games good luck!

Youth Olympic Games

The Youth Olympic Games will kick start from tomorrow onwards! I very excited to have world class athletes competing for glory for themselves as well as their own country, and achieving the one of the top youth sporting accolades. It is also a chance for the athletes to have a gauge of their standards at world stage. However, I feel that the hosting rights should have been given to Moscow instead. As we can see, successfully hosting international sporting events would reap greater benefits for a developing country rather than a developed country. The infrastructure, transport systems of the country would be improved and even the people there would be friendlier. Take South Africa for example. It has successfully hosted the renowned FIFA World Cup, therefore boosting its tourism, economy, and reputation. Even world leaders such as Barack Obama praised South Africa. Another example would be the Beijing Olympics. The Olympics has improved the quality of air, quality of people as well as infrastrcture of Beijing. Thus, I strongly feel that Moscow should be given the hosting rights for the Youth Olympic Games.

Visit to Peranakan Museum

Today, Ms Lim brought my friends and I to the Peranakan Museum for a field trip! Everybody was excited as we were about learn more about the Peranakan culture and its past, in order to have a deeper understanding of the literature text we were studying, Emily of Emerald Hill. Ms Lim also gave us a worksheet to fill up, as we went from a place to another. As I have watched the Channel 8 drama "The Little Nonya", I had a little knowledge of the Peranakan culture. As we strolled in the Peranakan Museum, I found out that there was Peranakans were actually Chinese, with a little Malay in their culture. We also learnt about food, rituals, clothings and even saw the utensils and cutlery of the Peranakan families. From this field trip, I was able to have a greater understand of Peranakan Culture and better imagine the life of Emily in the Play.