Thursday, February 2, 2012
Steven Johnson
Johnson talked about using resources we already have to create machines that we use everyday. For instance, he talks about how the Indonesian city of Meulaboh received eight new incubators after the tsunami to help decline the death rate of new born babies. But, after some odd years, the machines broke and no one knew how to fix them because the manual were in English. So instead of trying to fix them, they all were left there to collect dust. So, instead of creating machines no one knows how to fix and sending them to foreign countries, why don't we use the resources that the country has to create the same machine? That when they decided to use car parts to create incubators. Since they can keep their cars running, they should be able to fix the incubators, too. That's pretty creative in my opinion. So what I was thinking that instead of us buying complicated machines and having to bring them to someone professional to fix it, why don't we also use things that can easily be fixed with some common skills and knowledge. That could also lead to using recycled goods and limiting our waste. But how easy would that be? And, would that even be practical or useful?
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There are definitely enough bright minds out there to come up with ingenious, simple ideas to make complex resources more accessible. However, it seems that some things just cannot be made that simply. An incubator, although how simple someone made it with car parts, is still a remarkably complex machine. Scientific breakthroughs and discoveries are expensive. I feel like medicine will always be very costly. You can only go so far with making intricate things simple.
ReplyDeleteI think that with the many advances in technology, there is just no way to simplify everything. There is no way to make, say, a computer out of anything besides what it is. It sure would be great if things were made to be easily fixed by anyone, but I have doubts that it could be done. As everything continues to get smaller and smaller, more and more delicate, we need specialized equipment and workers to fix things. Just due to the skill and precision required to properly correct an issue. I think it would be a great advancement to make things out of simple circuits, but I just don't see it happening.
ReplyDeleteI too enjoyed this section of Steven Johnson's book. I never imagined that an incubator would be made out of simple car parts. I don't think that everything can be simplified down into parts that everyone has common knowledge of; however, I do think that great inventions evolve from precious ones and items and resources we already have access to.
ReplyDeleteI think it has a lot to do with money. If we made cheap and easy to fix things, than many people would be out of jobs like mechanics and other repair and maintenance workers. Unfortunately, this is the case with many of the worlds problems. If someone is gonna lose money or lose an opportunity to get money, they won't be happy about. It would be really cool to see technology go in that more simplistic direction though.
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