As Murphie discussed in the lecture, the printing press was what started the creation of modern science as it allowed scientists to communicate with each other and exchange ideas. In the 21st century, we are consumed by the Internet of things, which extends our thinking and changing the way we see everyday life, as well as science. This week’s readings focused on science, particularly medical. We can see a transversal connection from science, technology and innovation and how it reaches a connection with media where it then creates a new dynamic relationship with information. From the initial invention of the printing press, we see new relationships forming with neighbouring scientists who take advantage of this new media medium in order to build upon research without duplication. However, a question that I’d like to bring to the table is, how do we find some type level medium between potential chaos of the openness of data, and the fairness and need for open data? We verge away from written forms of data analysis and graphs, shifting the landscape in which “Science” inhabits. In the readings, we discuss how this infact ables us to speed up the process of innovations in Science, such as the creation of synthetic forms. This is discussed in Ian Sample’s (The Guardian, 2010) article, stating that ‘the research is reported online today in the journal Science,’ which further asserts that such research can alter directions of thinking better or for worse. Elizabeth Pisani (The Guardian, 2011) comments on this new landscape, and how it should be treated as an “achievement,” and I completely agree. We extend our opinions and knowledge based on what we know and what we are exposed to, and these new innovations of technology are what ables us to live in the Internet of things.
References:
- Fish, Greg (2009) ‘why your dna is nothing like a database’, Weird Things <http://worldofweirdthings.com/2009/10/21/why-your-dna-is-nothing-like-a-database/>
- Pisani, Elizabeth (2011) ‘Medical science will benefit from the research of crowds’, The Guardian, January 11, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/11/medical-research-data-sharing>
- Sample, Ian (2010) ‘Craig Venter Creates Synthetic Life Form’, The Guardian May 2, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/may/20/craig-venter-synthetic-life-form>
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