Concepts:This time we can begin with the requirements for the project
that is due next week. You have seen them several times.
At this point, you should have chosen your technology, researched it very well, and started a draft of your project. If not, you should hurry up and do those things. In case you have missed the target, you still have time to do complete the assignment. If you have done your research well, you should be able to answer the first three questions. Let's examine a technology to get a feeling for what your project might be like.
Okay, let's try that again. We could connect bicycles and
airplanes by noting that they both increase the ability of a person to
travel farther, to go to another place that is a sufficient distance
away that you could not easily go there by lesser means. Does that mean
that the jet aircraft is a technological descendent of the bicycle?
This is the sort of thing you want to consider for the project you have been assigned. Before I give you the impression that technology is all that matters, remember that pure science is a good thing, and we value the researchers who participate in it. However, the invention of a technology is generally in response to some human interest or problem. (The link goes to a classic Saul Bass film short called Why Man Creates. Watch it. You should be glad you did.) If you understand the problem and the technology, you can judge whether a solution has been found. And that solution may lead to other problems. You may see that this solution will change the problem in the minds of the users or let them see a new problem, and that a new development is desired. You may see that the solution is an equivalent to the fried pickle: a delight to a few, whose attraction remains a mystery to the vast majority. If that example made you happy, follow the link for a recipe. If it made you feel ill, follow the link anyway. There are links to several more recipes on that page, and I suspect at least one will interest you. Whatever someone's problem is, there is a value in a technology that solves it for the people who have the problem. Solving problems, in and of itself, is often fun. Solving problems that are causing someone pain or misery is more than that. It is a noble profession. Solving a problem, however, may create a new problem, or a new opportunity, and that leads to more research and development of more solutions. In computer technology, we often see the invention of a technology that relies on an already existing technology. The new development may work very well at first, but may work less satisfactorily as it becomes more popular and requires more from the previous technology than it can provide. That can lead to the need to redevelop the underlying technology, to make it more robust, to enable it to provide a level of service that was either not anticipated or not originally intended. Here is an example. When a disaster of any sort happens, one of the technologies that is often overloaded is communication technology. People who need help, and people who are trying to give help struggle to communicate with the right people. Our communication infrastructure is often overwhelmed by a flow of information and requests to connect that are greater than the system meant to carry them was designed to support. This presents a problem and an opportunity for solutions.
Noticing such problems, and measuring the scope of the effects of such
problems leads to possible prediction of the size of the market for a
solution to those problems. And that can lead us to possible avenues of
research and development that may lead to viable products to meet more
needs. If you are working in a position to do such research, you can
have a meaningful effect on the lives of people affected by these
problems. If you are working in a position that serves that public, you
can have an effect on them by finding and providing technical solutions
that have potential for growth and may improve over time.
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