Musings...
This session was certainly one of the more interesting sessions so far. At the start of the class, Prof showed us a video called "History of Stuff". To me, this video was creative, insightful and convincing. Firstly, the creative aspect flowed from the speaker using a 'Green Screen' to illustrate her points, having a strong visual component and speaking with confidence amplified this this area of the video tremendously well. The clear insight that sprung from this was evident in the fact that the speaker used alarmingly true facts to capture the audience and ensure that they stay captured by the information given. The art of how the speaker managed to convince me was when she was able to relate every single aspect of the presentation back to the layperson. Every point made about how the world is being used and abused, and how consumers like us are perpetuating this linear cycle to no end truly caught my attention and made an impact. Unlike issues of polluted lakes and rivers that occur daily all over the globe, this issue hit pretty close to home. In our society, where even the smallest act of littering is considered a serious offense, issues like mass pollution seem foreign. But when the speaker puts such issues of over-consumption and limitless wastage, I could feel the significance.
In our growingly affluent society, people are enticed to spend, spend, spend. Things like the Great Singapore Sale and Comex become national events where people compete to queue up for slightly discounted clothes, electronics, household appliances, lingerie and everything in between. But do we really need an ample supply of such goods? It becomes consumer gluttony, and sadly, such behaviour will inevitably lead to even more wastage. People start replacing their shoes, clothes, electronics, cellphones faster and faster - to the point that the demand increases so drastically and the worst part is that the majority of these goods are not eco-friendly or recyclable. This nightmare slowly manifested and contributed to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - which for the longest time, I believed to be a myth. It's like one of those bad stories that your parents tell you to stop you from littering but now, this is a reality and its a pretty huge one at that.
An interesting and yet rather controversial visual aid from History of Stuff includes the Fat 'Business' Man and the Little 'Government' Boy. Most may take it as silly depictions of the political system in the United States where the government is often at the mercy of the large corporate entities due to the economic power that hold. However, if we were to project this system elsewhere in the world, would it look ridiculous? For one, the Singaporean government seems to have bludgeoned, cooked and actually eaten the Fat 'Business' Man. Strangely enough, most of the large corporations are either government-owned, ran by the government (or its corporate manifestations [yes, you know what Holdings I'm talking about]) or influenced in the direction that the government wants. Secure? Maybe. Because of this, not many corporations have the power nor the influence to rise up and challenge our government. In some cases, this stifles competition and most free-market advocates will tend to challenge this, however, it does have positive aspects as Singapore is never at the mercy of the large corporate forces even in this turbulent global age.
Aside from History of Stuff, the points raised in the discussion of the second reading was rather interesting. The advantage of backwardness. This was a new concept to me. However, this definitely shed some light as to how developing nations can leapfrog into the 21st century. Giants like China and India don't just take advantage of their large supply of labour and resources but also the fact that most of the technological frameworks and global business infrastructures have been set in place by countries who trailblazed their way into this century. By using the knowledge, technology and expertise of the forerunners, many growing countries managed to get ahead in the global system today. With the advent of globalisation, countries like Singapore have take what the West has done and what other Asian tigers have succeeded in and mimicked their success through effective planning and efficient processes. And now, the giants of China and Indian have caught on and exemplified this trend of advantageous backwardness.
This session's presentation on electronic cigarettes was one I found surprisingly refreshing. As a smoker, the innovation of electronic cigarettes does open doors where conventional cigarettes can't enter. Just for the fact that the electronic cigarette does not release harmful second-hand smoke but harmless vapour, the initial attraction to this technology has been sparked. However, through more thought-provoking discussion, I realised that legalizing electronic cigarettes could definitely unlock a floodgate argument. The idea that it would be legal for 18 year olds to be addicted to nicotine and the idea that they could perpetuate this addiction in almost any venue is scary. Most people dislike or disapprove of smoking due to the proven health risks, the odour and the harmful second-hand emissions. However, with electronic cigarettes these stigmas have been removed and it may become very attractive to most people, looking at the prevalent pop culture of being cool and having a cigarette in hand. Essentially, that was how I started smoking, back in high school when being rebellious meant being cool, smoking was a growing influence from friends. It was socially accepted and most people even saw it as something like the fruit from the tree in Eden. We couldn't have been more foolish however as the addiction to nicotine is something real and rather frightening. My takeaway message for myself is that - if something is too good to be true, it probably isn't.
Personal rating for this session: 9.09/10
Off to further musings,
James G14
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