The latin for “I think, therefore I exist”. This argument was used by René Descartes in his study of his life or more commonly known as philosophy. This has become the foundation for the western philosophy. This statement basically means that when you think about something or specifically doubting your existence, therefore you must be existing in order for you to think or doubt. Dont worry, this is not a discussion about this.

 

     Recently just this past Saturday on December 06, I went to a class a little late, expecting to see my fellow classmates to have started their discussion concerning on the Future Technology they want to represent. Unfortunately, I was greeted again with our professor giving a sermon and he wrote on the board “I THINK THEREFORE I EXIST”. He demands to know what we, or maybe certain people, think about this statement when related to our performance in following and executing our plans for the model displays. At first, I did not know what was going on and why the class is silent. No one dared to volunteer and give his/her opinion unless when asked first by our professor. From feeling the atmosphere and having a quick, casual talk with some of my classmate, I then knew that the group responsible for securing the space for the display to take place and getting the dividers to be used in organizing the displays have failed. Although they did not fail completely, they have only completed the task of getting the permission and seeking the authorization of the proper school officials halfway through. There were some problems like the Dean for the building was out of town and currently unreachable. Of course, this would mean that the plan on starting the exhibit on early Monday would postpone and the reputation and trust of our professor towards our class would be damaged miserably.

 

     Now having the story told, it would seem to be obvious that the initial plan was a big failure because of our lack of sense of responsibility and proper anticipation of would-be problems in the near future. Our professor views it as a failure of the whole class and those who are involved with it. I can not argue since many of us in the class did not  even give a hint of concern or responsibility and most were unaware that the plan was falling apart. Our professor said that the most essential part in establishing a good respect from others can be gained by first impressions, most specially in proper planning and execution and communication to the proper or higher individuals. But as you can imagine, a failure right from the start would severely ruin that intention of gaining respect by giving a good impression. Our professor’s respect and trust to us was utterly destroyed and evident since he said it himself to us on that day. So what did our class do? Apart from being forced to think about “I THINK THEREFORE I EXIST”, the class immediately thought of a new plan for recovery and adjustment. Recovery for the time lost due to failure and adjustment of schedules. But what our professor insisted to us to think and reflect was René’s words. Some of us was even called and gave his/her opinion and I was among them. Hehe. 

 

     What I think our professor wanted us to do was to reflect deeply on what had taken place and what we lack while reflecting on René’s statement. What I thought was we must think of the things that led to the failure (that would involve our own personal performance and characters from our professor’s perspective) and reflect on the fact that we have thought about these things because the failure existed that stemmed from our incompetency. Truthfully, I thought about this when our professor gave us one (1) minute stop and think, prioritize it in our minds, about René’s words and what had happened. Our professor was dissapointed further when the class have also failed to understand on what he meant in relating René’s words to the failure but did not insist on going deeper since it would be a waste of time. For me, I think he gave up hope in making us understand. Hehe.

 

     When the class had started discussing about what to do now to patch things up. Our professor did not seem to accept the proposed ideas and ideas conjured from the assessment of the current situation. He insisted to us that we would not pursue and force to hold the exhibit this month and instead move it right after the new year, only if we would perform better this time and reflect on what had happened. The attitude of the class immediately, although not thoroughly, dismissing the failure and reflecting but instead focused its attention on patching things up was not readily accepted by our professor. I immediately thought that this is why people can recover from mistakes and move on, and also the reason why people don’t learn.

Being an Information Technology professional, I may dedicate myself to many things working in a good job with a good pay. But as a person living in this world experiencing how hard it is and knowing that I can help by introducing some innovations or technologies, I can not avoid not being concerned.
First, we need to determine the current condition of the quality of life of the majority of the people nowadays, especially in my own environment where I have lived. We all know that the current conditions of many lives are harsh. Many are striving hard to have a normal life, giving their best effort yet failing even just to eat a healthy 3 meals a day. This is because our world, importantly in my own environment, is suffering from a major economic crisis. Not only that the things needed to live normally are getting very expensive and hard to obtain but also many people do not have jobs plainly because there are no more available jobs or many jobs today can only pay so much that it is not sufficient enough to sustain a single life. There are also cases in which many people can not get proper or decent jobs that would not even pay enough because they lack the qualifications. Qualifications such as proper education are not hard since the fee for learning in a proper school or other institution are very high and can be afforded only by fewer people. There is also the case of unstable residency since most of the living spaces or places that offer temporary habitation for a price are now demanding high payment that fewer jobs can manage to pay for it, not including the expense for meals and other necessary things needed to live normally. With this condition, people tend to lend money from anyone that offers it and usually ends in a debt that can never be paid even he or she would work the rest of his or her life. Some people, being so desperate, will do harm to other people just to get money. Harmful things such as extorting, scamming and racketeering are the most common activities that are being practiced by people who have turned from working decent jobs. Yet these activities are only mild in the extremity of the reality. Worst case possibly happening is that people would turn into real criminals doing dangerous work just to earn enough money like robbing, stealing and killing for a price. Indeed, the realities of this world include the ruthless idea that there will be a time that this world will be unhealthy and unpleasant to live in. Maybe this world will become inhabitable just only because of the unending degradation of the quality of life. And if you are dealing with future, you can definitely imagine a world like this without greatly doubting it from ever happening if the condition of life would only get worse.

Now what is the role of the technology to this ever worsening condition yet truly happening in this world? Although I can mention many explanations or reasons to answer this question, may it be directly or indirectly. It still can not be measured and told directly the total role and significance of the technologies playing in this cruel part.

We all know that technology is made and used in order to improve the quality of life of the many people in many ways. Not only by making tasks or things easy and fast, Technologies can also open up new ways and options to dealing with many different matters. The primary objective of the many innovators in improving and helping in the evolution of many technologies is to bring good to humanity. Yet when there is a thing that can do good things, that thing can also do bad things. Technology brings unemployment. Innovation in manufacturing technology such as robotic equipments and fully automated production means that there will be lesser people needed to maintain and see to the production of goods. Each task that gets automation with the help of technology replaces many workers in many factories. The cost of automating a single manufacturing process can be costly but in contrast to paying hourly wages and inconsistent and/or undependable performance is nothing compared to fast and accurate production of goods with the help of technology. Lesser people employed means bigger competition in the job market; also meaning that many people will be jobless. Automating of tasks also means that the job of the worker that needs to do is also minimized thus the significance of his or her work is also minimized meaning his or her salary will be also cut off. Technology can also bring pollution such as the huge black smoke emerging from nuclear plants and industrial infrastructure that uses machines and equipments. Toxic chemicals spilled from improper drainages of some factories are also one of the major catastrophes that contribute to worsening the places where people live. Not only these things have direct effect to the people, it could also make their area of work more dangerous. Poisoning the farms and waters also leads to destruction of crops and fishes thus cutting down the production of food, making these foods more expensive and fewer in supplies. These machines that produce harmful byproducts are also the product of technology. And these things are but some of the bad effects of technology on people.

Today, most researchers and IT professionals are more concerned of the environment and the effects of the technology to it. There would be nothing good a technology could be if the environment itself would be destroyed or harmed as a result. Most people now are aware of the bad effects of technology and wish it to be solved so that the significance and all the benefits a technology could bring would be felt surely without any second thoughts. Developments of technology with the concern of the causes it might do the environment are now being practiced and followed carefully. As to the loss of jobs because of automation, it can be said that it could not be helped and avoided since automation of menial tasks are most fundamental when talking about using technology for improvement.

Now, as a worthy Information Technology professional, I must set in my mind these concerns about technology. My aim would to develop a technology that would help people economically while not having bad effects to the environment. Innovations in farming and livestock industries are good to develop but not promoting the use of harmful chemicals and pesticides. Surely there would be a technology suited for getting rid of pest in farms and preventing devastations such as locust swam attacks and flooding. Currently, the only logical solution to that kind of problem would be the deployment of greenhouses in the cultivated areas but since it costs much and can not cover big farming areas, which we mostly see in our provinces, this solution is not usable and effective. So a development of a new technology or innovations in the use of greenhouse is one of technology in my list to be focused upon in the future. The next one is water treatment processes. As we all know, water is the primary source of life. If there is an adequate supply of fresh and clean water, there would be life near to it. Yet many facilities or factories in our current time continue to ruin and destroy water by their improper waste disposal, usually composed of harmful chemicals and mixtures that would quickly poison the waters and spread to bigger water bodies or areas. This water poisoning activity also leads to the poisoning of the fishes and any water life in the area. And these poisoned fish are very harmful to people once eaten. Surely, this would also lead to the destruction of one of the major food sources of people. So a development for a technology that could eradicate of harmful chemicals in the waters of our environment is very necessary and significant. Not only chemicals due to improper chemical waste disposal but also due to oil spills and unprecedented events causing other type of harmful substances to be leaked out to open waters as what happened to a ship that sunk in the ocean. It would be an innovation for our current water treatment facilities or a new water treating structures to be built near factories that produces chemicals that can operate in the middle of the water with an effective output of clearing millions of gallons of water per day.

Next, the quality of life now is decreasing since many harmful substances are produced by people that can harm other people’s health. Harmful substances like poisonous smoke that combines to the air we breathe. The newly emerged types of bacteria and viruses are also one of the products of human development. Diseases like SARS and Aids have never been before more lethal and have struck many people since the innovation and use of many products of technology. So an innovation for Medical technology can be called. Improving the way the sick is treated and how effectively can be related to the improvement of the quality of life. Improvement of human immune systems through the use of genomic technology by implanting important genes while we are still an infant can be also introduced in the future. Innovating robots with the size as small as our red blood cells, or maybe smaller, to be used as the reinforcement in our immune system can be also realized. Performing functions such as destroying unwanted or harmful cells such as cancer, tumor or even the viruses or bacteria itself can be done by these robots. Repairing damaged tissues and helping to recover the cuts and fractures can be one of the primary functions of these products of highly advanced technology.

Improving the state of the environment where people live in can cause major effects in the improvement of the quality of life. Even though innovations in other technologies such as flying cars or artificial intelligence are not included in one of my concerns, I believe that the technologies I have mentioned earlier can contribute and attribute to the innovations to the latter technologies or the other unmentioned technologies as it can also improve the quality of life for the researchers of these technology and improve the environment in which it would be developed.

All of these may sound too difficult and hard for me to introduce and innovate but even with a little help and contribution; these technologies are not really far from realization and discovery. As long as people including me, continue to be concerned and regard the current conditions of the quality of life among the many people suffering from unnecessary causes, there would be a strong and clear chance that innovations of technologies would be recognized and pursued in the future. People still believing to the power of technology to improve the quality of life can be my motivation to answer to their beliefs by sharing and contributing as much as possible to the recognition of these technologies. To me personally, my poor capabilities and insignificant work may be not enough to realize these innovations but it will be enough to introduce and bring awareness to many other people that could lead to the realization of these innovations. We must remember that in every step a part of the ideal is fulfilled and realized until the whole ideal is formed and conceived.

     This title was chosen based on how I perceive my blogging would turn out to be. As it turned out, it could be for nothing. But on the other side, Blogging kinda helped me in improving my grades and made me do something worthwhile once in a while. Many of my friends say blogging is like an online diary where you write things that got in your thoughts or feelings that jumped out of your brain and post it in the net. Well, maybe it is. But our Blogs has definitely become like one as we are supposed to publish and show our reflections and learning, or on rare occasions a discoveries, on some subject that may or may not interests some of us at all. Now, now.  A blog can become into other things too. A Blog can be an online news journal maybe or a tutorial corner, or maybe even an online voting poll. Blogs can be very interesting for the chosen target (a type of audience which the author wants to see and appreciate his/her articles) and be very boring to the rest. And I think no one can make a Blog be interesting and captivating to everybody, whoever he/she is or how different he/she can get. People get different names and faces because each one is purely different; and as proud and powerful beings on Earth, people need distinction and individuality to continue to live, survive and evolve. Some people may like an object while at the same time, other some people hate it. From what many philosophers said, if there is something that agrees or represent an object then there must be something that disagrees or “disrepresent” that object. So you can’t say your Blog can make everybody happy now. It would be in contradiction with the essence of the individuality of one’s existence.

     Despite all of these unnecessary ramblings, I do believe that everything done and produced by a person is an extension of one’s self as it can represent and reflect his character or personality one way or another. Blogging is not an exception. You can read and monitor a development of an individual’s Blog, and you may learn to see and understand his/her character or at least his/her preferences of font and theme. Returning to the subject concerned, we can say that a Blog can be a picture or an image of one’s personality. Especially if your Blog is more on the personal side rather than on the professional side. (Then what?) Then it means Blogging can be more than just posting some article or paragraphs in the Internet and waiting for someone to comment. Blogging can be a tool for professional work, a therapy for someone’s condition, or be an online diary for someone wishing that there would a person with the time and the right mind to read it. Everyone can have a blog and it is very easy to create and own one. But Blogging starts when you start to post items in it. And the difficulty lies in maintaining it and/or improving it. Why? Because people’s interests change very fast and boredom can be very lethal. (Well, you do know boredom can come from being boring.). Of course, when I mean everybody can, I meant those with the capability and enough interest, maybe you would add enough knowledge and skills. People who can’t express themselves very much usually avoid this kind of activity. There are also others like those who hate the internet or technology, those who can’t see, can’t read or understand a thing, those that don’t have the luxury (well, you can imagine what kind of luxury it is) or just plain uninterested and don’t have time. It can be a really sad to think that not everybody can enjoy Blogging and engage in this activity. And I meant “can”.

     (So what the heck and tell all of this stuff?)I don’t know. I can’t relate much either. But the fact that I can’t relate or share the enthusiasm of other Bloggers basically means I can’t do Blogging. (oh, now your showing) Initially, this one was intended to be the new introduction part to this Blog. (Now why Nothing?) Nothing because as it literally means, zero. Seriously, Blogging can be nothing but a powerful tool or medium to share important or significant knowledge through one’s personal learning, reflection and discovery; and empower people to express themselves and prove their individuality to the world.

    Heck, Blogging is too troublesome and a waste of time. But at least, not at what it is for. Just remember in the old days, people can die from speaking. Now nobody can stop us from blogging. Hahaha.. happy Blogging!