Smart Technology: Are we smarter than the environment?

What would living in a truly smart environment be like? The fridge becomes your dietician, your television is your social networking hub and web-surfer, your autonomous car allows you to work on your laptop and assist in lane changing while driving, and the lighting and music in the room adapt automatically to your changing moods.

Sounds like the perfect life as, basically, you will not need to think or do much.

Lately, we have been lured into a new way of thinking brought about largely by an increase in smart technology available in the market. More and more people are overzealously embracing these technologies to help them to become more productive, enable them to multi-task, and subsequently improve their quality of life.

However, the obsession with smart technology has caused many problems due to its illusory benefits. Without realising it, we are made to believe some serious myths as we evolve from human-centric to smart living environments. We have traded off human quality for technology. Like it or not, smart technology is making its way into our households in a big way.

I am not suggesting that we abandon smart technology and revert to the traditional ways of living. Rather, I would like to share with you my perspectives on the smart technology phenomena as an educator and put smart technology into its proper context.

From a personal perspective, smart technology should be regarded as a tool rather than a lifestyle. For example, a handyman might utilise smart technology for specific tasks, such as repair and maintenance work, while smart-living hippies would tend to surround themselves with the latest technology in the market, such that their lives would revolve around them. The difference between the handyman and the hippies is the amount of time, energy and money they spend on the respective technology.

The hippies are more likely to embrace smart technology as a lifestyle. Upgrading to the latest model or version is a must regardless of its necessity, while the handyman would think twice before jumping on the bandwagon.

Instead of channelling all our energies to smart living, we should invest our time in developing ‘smart humans’. I am not referring to the likes of Tony Stark from ‘The Iron Man’ movie here, although some of us are already ‘semi-cyborgs’ with inseparable ‘extended body parts’ like the smart phones, headphones and tablet computers we use.

The ‘smart human’ here refers to highly intelligent, brilliant, bright and clever humans who possess mental capacity stimulated by activities involving the cognitive skills – analysis, evaluation and synthesis. Smart technology is slowly ‘brainwashing’ humans, such that they do not put effort into thinking and exercising their cognitive skills, which subsequently reduces the potential of human brain development.

Research conducted by Eleanor Maguire from University College London (UCL) on London taxi drivers found that taxi drivers who learn routes around London by ‘doing the knowledge’ rather than depending on GPS have a larger hippocampus (a structure important for memory and spatial orientation) than non-taxi drivers.

In a 2010 study led by Veronique Bohbot from McGill University in Canada on non-professional drivers also produced brain-scan evidence to suggest that depending on GPS for navigation can reduce the activity and size of the hippocampus.

Humans would be smarter than smart technology if we spend less time playing Angry Birds or updating our Twitter or Facebook on our smartphones. A research published in PLOS ONE journal by Fuchun Lin, Yan Zhou and colleagues from the Jiao Tong University Medical School in Shanghai suggested that Internet addicts had damage to the white matter in their orbito-frontal cortex similar to that found in alcoholics and drug addicts. The orbito-frontal cortex plays a critical role in emotional processing and addiction-related phenomena such as craving, compulsive-repetitive behaviours and bad decision making.

It is also important to note that Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) is now a serious mental health problem. Sufferers of IAD are unable to control their use of the Internet, leading to distress and functional impairments of general life such as academic performance, social interaction, occupational interest and behavioural problems.

Judging by the increase in smart concepts, from smart appliances to smart factories, smart materials to smart farming, smart homes to smart cars, and smart transport to even smart dust, it is just a matter of time before these tools outsmart and control our lives. When that day comes, just like the science-fiction film ‘Wall-E’, the only cognitive skills that humans would be mastering would be in swiping screens and pushing buttons.

This article was published in The Borneo Post on February 26, 2013

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Network your brain: The Net beyond Facebook

What would the world be without the Internet and can you imagine a day without Facebook?

These two questions never fail to trigger interesting responses from my Net-generation and techno-savvy students. Among the responses is the metaphor of living in the Amazon; remote, dull and boring – and mind you, they are not referring to the popular online bookstore.

These students were born in an era where the Internet is a basic utility packaged with search engines, online stores, social networking sites, virtual life and other online applications.

The days when students needed to search for assignment materials through library catalogues have been replaced by Google Search or online library databases, where every resource comes with a click of a mouse and the process fast and fun.

Flash back to the year 1969 when the Internet was first came online, was used mainly by computer experts, engineers, scientists, and librarians, and there was nothing ‘friendly’ about it. In those days, there were no home or office personal computers and anyone who used the Internet, be they computer professionals, engineers, scientists or librarians, had to learn a very complex system.

However, as Internet technology evolved from a static web to web 2.0, and from Netscape browser to Google Chrome, the social networking frenzy has superseded the Internet chat room frenzy. The most popular social networking site is undoubtedly Facebook founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his college roommates.

Seven years after Facebook was launched, an Internet World statistic reported that Asia marked the highest growth of all regions and remains the biggest Facebook user with more than 59 million users within the last 10 months. According to SocialBakers.com, Malaysia is ranked 17 worldwide for the highest number of registered Facebook users as at July 2011.

Hence, it is not surprising that a group of local fourth formers who attended my outreach session on ICT applications a few weeks proved to be very well exposed to the Internet and social networking websites. However, it was disturbing to note how ignorant they were about the productivity tools available on the Internet.

Online productivity tools comprise an essential learning kit for the first year commerce students at Curtin Sarawak next to their mandatory ‘oxygen’, that is, Curtin’s Learning Management System (also known as FLECS). Our curriculum is designed in such a way as to maximise the students’ exposure and use of the online resources to develop their knowledge of the activities, techniques and tools used in developing and implementing information technology in organisations.

With so many amazing tools accessible on the Net, the students can stay connected and complete their tasks quickly, and thus be able to enjoy their lives to the fullest without guilt.

There are numerous productivity tools besides Facebook and Twitter. They come with different names, in different forms and shapes that can be used as class helpers, storing widgets, tracking gadgets and time management tools.

Freemind, for instance, is a free software that help students create interesting notes in a minute and serves as a jumping-off point for students to undergo electronic mind-mapping for brainstorming.

Another note-taking tool worth trying is Evernote, which offers web-based, desktop and mobiles applications and is easily synchronisable.

Google Documents is my personal favourite and a critical tool for my students to submit their assignments. It provides the same environment as Microsoft Office with a great degree of sharing and collaborative features, which students and teachers can make use of for group projects or reports.

For task scheduling and reminders, Remember The Milk (RTM) and Soshiku are excellent web tools which make setting up reminders very easy.

For storing of large files, Drop Box or Drop.io offer free, private, real-time file sharing and collaboration options for students.

The list of such tools is exhaustive, and technologies like these are not necessarily limited to students only. A housewife can now utilise social networking sites to reconnect with her former schoolmates around the globe and businesses can save a lot of time in processing tasks and improving supply chain management through an Electronic Data Interchange.

The Internet revolution and social networking should not only change the way people live their lives or do business, but also change the way people think. Hence, a Net-generation student should be able to utilise the tools available on the Net to improve his or her productivity – and not the opposite.

As William Feather said, "In education, it isn't how much you have committed to memory or even how much you know. It is being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't. It's knowing where to go to find out what you need to know and it's knowing how to use the information you get."

This Article was published in The Borneo Post on November 22, 2011

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Post Cubaan 2

Amal Yang Menjauhkan Dari Allah

Baru ni, aku dihantui perasaan makin jauh dengan Allah. Dalam masa yang sama, pada pendapat aku macam amal aku dah bertambah. Kalau dulu aku tak dapat nak bangun sembahyang subuh, sekarang Alhamdulillah berkat doa kawan-kawan dan ketabahan isteri dalam mengejut, bertambah la jugak dalam seminggu ade la lebih sikit daripada dulu 0. Tapi aku tak tahu kenapa makin hari makin pelik, rasa macam makin jauh ... makin jauh ... dan makin jauh.

Dengar bayan dalam kete ... "tuan-tuan kena jaga akhlak" ... bla bla bla ... "tuan-tuan kena jaga silaturrahim" ... bla bla bla ... "tuan tuan kena jaga sembahyang" ... aku tersentak. Macam mana sembahyang kena usahakan dengan banyak,sembahyang juga mesti diusahakan atas kesempurnaannya. Sembahyang yang dijalankan dengan kelalaian akan menambahkan lagi kelalaian. Bayangkan kita sembahyang atau beramal, dengan usaha untuk kesempurnaan amal tersebut, makin bertambah kesan baik dalam diri. Dengan amal yang sama, tapi dengan kelalaian akan menambahkan jauh seseorang dari Allah.

oh, macam tu... ape lagi flashback la ...

"Allahuakbar allahuakbar!", dengar seruan azan maghrib. aku baru capai tuala, pergi mandi. Dah siap mandi, siap-siap pakai pakaian sembahyang.
"Allahuakbar allahuakbar!", dengar iqamat pulak. Bukak pintu, turun bawah. Masuk jemaah Maghrib dalam sebagai seorang masbuk.

Dekat sebulan jugak aku macam tu. Jadi, mungkin ni lah kot punca kenapa aku rasa macam makin jauh dari Allah. Syok sendiri aku mungkin rasa sepatutnya makin ok, hakikat dia masih lagi yang aku kena perbaiki. So, aku azam nak perbaiki amalan aku.

Dan pesanan aku paling penting dalam post ni (untuk diri aku lebih-lebih lagi), dengar dari bayan, Amalan kita akan ditimbang bukan dibilang. Kalau bilang, siapa lebih banyak rakaat sembahyangnya, dia menang. Tapi hakikatnya lain. Bila amal ditimbang, kesempurnaan dalam solat tu akan memberatkan lagi timbangan amal kita. amal yang banyak tanpa kualiti pun penting, sekurang-kurangnya bertambah berat timbangan amal kita berbanding daripada orang yang tak usahakan dengan kuantiti dan kualiti amal, yakni biarkan aje mase berlalu, amal cukup ala kadar, amal tak banyak dan tak berkualiti.

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Post Cubaan

Maksiat dan Masjid

"Pak mael! Ke mana tu?"

"Eh, ko tgk aku pakai camni...mestilah masjid!"

Kata pak mael dengan seluar track suitnye. Di tangannya pula terpegang bat ping pong.

Normal tak suasana ni? Jawapan dia bukan TAK, tapi BELUM. Tajuk memang tak sama dengan intro, sebab memang nak bagi pembaca buka minda dan berfikirm peristiwa kat atas tu bukannya peristiwa jadi jadian atau direka. Malang sekali memang pernah terjadi pada saya.

Saban hari masjid dah kehilangan kesuciannya. Dengan jadi tempat untuk orang menghamburkan caci caci makian atas nama islam, tempat simpan barang rewang dsb. Tak terlepas juga sebagai tempat untuk menambahkan kekayaan dengan berniaga menjualkan takwa, dapat kepercayaan orang ramai dan kaya (sila rujuk hadis nabi ajar doa utk orang yang berniaga dalam masjid).

Kita terus kepada maksud asal kenapa pos ini ditulis. Tak salah nak bernikah di masjid. Tak salah juga nak berniaga di perkarangan masjid dan tak salah pun kalau nak main ping pong di perkarangan masjid. Apa yang penting sebenarnya ialah menjaga hak2 masjid. Antara hak2 masjid ialah menjaga aurat. Pernah saya datang dua kenduri yang berbeza tetapi bertempatkan masjid. Satu, alhamdulillah tetamunya beretika seperti yang sepatutnya manakala satu lagi tidak. Apa yang tidaknya? Pakaian tetamu perempuan tak menutup aurat, dengan dendangan meriah lagu kahwin (yang dulu banyak ustaz kate haram tapi disebabkan nak menyambut kedatangan dajjal, dah halal dimainkan kt masjid), perzinaan wanita dengan semua lelaki yang terbau wangiannya dan perkara2 biasa yang berlaku dalam majlis kahwin yang tak perlu diterangkan lagi. Nak ceritanya, gambar pengantin berpelukan bagai pun berlatarkan pintu masjid.

Umat. Ketahuilah cinta allah pada sesuatu tempat bermulanya dengan masjid. Tapi jika di masjid pun kita dah usaha untuk tambahkan kemarahan allah, mana lagi muka bumi allah yang lebih disukai selain dari masjid? Tidak dengan nada marah saya menyampaikan perkara ni, tetapi dengan penuh kasih sayang saya mengharapkan masjid itu dipelihara kesuciannya. Bebas dari kemurkaan allah. Kenapa kita suka sangat meletakkan urusan atas kepala kita sendiri? Inilah kepala segala bidaah, yakni meletakkan urusan agama berpaksikan akal fikiran sendiri berbanding wahyu allah dan sunnah rasulullah saw. Saya faham, dengan katering yang disediakan masjid, memang dapat menambah pendapatan masjid lantaran dapat digunakan untuk kebaikan umat islam setempat. Tapi menjana kewangan bukanlah dengan cara yang allah murka. Saya perhatikan, ada ruangan parkir di luar kawasan masjid yang memang milik masjid tersebut. Alangkah bagusnya sekiranya majlis yg berlangsung dijalankan di sana. Masjid tetap dekat, senang nak sembahyang.

Orang orang agama sepatutnya menjadi mereka yang bermujahadah nafsu dan kesenangan. Jangan jadikan diri kita sebagai alasan mereka yang tak bertanggungjawab untuk buat kemungkaran. Sebagai contoh; orang masjid yang memulakan majlis perkahwinan di masjid. Pada asalnya memang tetamunya ialah orang yang jaga2 aurat. Tapi bila orang masjid dah mulakan, orang orang yang tak biasa ke masjid pun jadikan masjid sebagai salah satu pilihan yang mereka ada. Bila orang orang macam ni pun buat majlis, maka bermulalah yang saya tulis di atas. Saya tak letakkan semua kesalah kat orang yang tak tahu agama, tapi orang agama lah yang paling perlu berhati hati. Jangan habuan dunia yang sedikit menjadi maksud utama kehidupan. Jangan iktikad anda pada duit menjadikan masjid halal untuk segala galanya.

Ini bukan sola fatwa. Fatwa memang sentiasa bermula debgan harus, melainkan ada nas yang mengharamkannya. Tapi ini soal taqwa. Mana kasih sayang kita pada kesucian masjid dan kecintaan kita kepada perasaan kasih sayang nabi terhadap umat.

Sentiasalah letakkan taqwa di hadapan.

Allaahummansurnaa ya allah.

Ps : Bacalah post ni 5 tahun nanti dengan hati terbuka lapang.

Nanti akan ada mulut yang beri penerangan bahawa
Hadapan masjid tak dikira sebagai masjid;
Dendangan lagu kahwin perempuan harus;
Nak dakwah orang kepada masjid, xpe kalau orang islam perempuan tak pakai tudung masuk masjid;
Dan sebagainya.

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