Last week, I spend a nice morning at the Singapore Science Centre. It has been ages since I made a visit there. From nostalgic recollections, I bet everyone remembered the amazing underwater mice habitat at the central atrium. It was powered by solar cells and it showed the possibility of living underwater using photo-electricity to filter oxygen out of water (i think that was how it worked). Today, the central atrium has newer exhibits featuring static electricity generators, Jacob ladders and whirlpool demonstration. But i still miss the mice.
I brought my daughter to the Science Centre and I could not help recalling my dad bringing me there when the Science Centre was first opened in the 80s. We went to Jurong Town Hall by mistake and architecturally, both buildings look similar in those days. I remembered this thought clearly - I want to be a scientist when I grow up. There is nothing cooler than science, spaceships, planes and machines. Now my daughter, at 2.9 years old, has been hounding me to buy her a telescope as she fell in love with planets. I want her to see the rings of Saturn and the valleys of the Mars. And be amazed. And be inspired by the smallness of ourselves and the largeness of space. You have no idea how happy and proud I am. This is full circle.
I did not grow up to be a scientist but i add value to scientists, technologists, programmers and inventors. I make them rich. I hunt funding for them. I protect their ideas and patents. I shield them from predators. I look for an A-Team for them, and if necessary, eliminate (i.e. downsize) trouble makers for them. I rub my hands and almost purr when I get hold of a piece of technology or understand the power of a new software.
So civil servant, politicians, administrators, public charities - if you are reading this, please spare a thought for putting money in science exhibitions, roadshows, courses, centres, quizzes etc. Be a promoter of science gadgets and inventions. Cater to the NERDS. Inspire the kids. The love of science and technology is a like a romantic journey. You never give up your first love. And I am glad I never did.
Below is a picture I took of a self-driven car powered by several on board PCs. It is a new exhibit at the Science Centre. Think about the possibility when you can utter commands to your car and it takes you there while you read, work and entertain inside the auto-car. Like Minority Report. Like I-Robot. Like Demolition Man. Like those cheesy SCI-FI shows. Except that it is real. It will take years (all the legal issues about who should be responsible in the event that the car damages another car/human being must be worked out.) Maybe, the car's CPU will incorporate Asimov's Laws of Robotics - A robot(car) must not harm, or thru inaction, harm another human being/car. Maybe if that law is incorporated, cars will travel at 10 km/hour. We don't know and that is why the future is so exciting!
If you ask me, I trust a silicon chip anytime - more than those Ah Bengs/Ah Sengs/Ah Lians/Ah Ang Mohs/Ah Showoffs/Ah Executives/Ah celebrity having too many drinks/Human Beings in their modified (Model and Make: fill in the blank) cars on some ego or drunken trips. Call me a dreamer but the chip is the way to go. Volvo and BMW today offer cars that are computer assisted - they warn you when you change lane badly or blindly, they buzz you when you tail gate another car and so on. The integration of more and more safety technology into the car is inevitable and at some point, the line will be crossed and we humans become assistant drivers. And that is not a bad thing.
Harold Fock
Harold Fock's self driven car in 2020? It has to be in black though...
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