Unit III

The Information Age

(Gutenberg to Social Media)

ZITA M. CORPUZ
At the end of this chapter, the
students should be able to:

1. Determine the human and social

impacts of the developments in the
information age;
2. Discuss the evolution of technology
from the ancient times up to the
present;
3. Illustrate how social media have
affected their lives.
Humans are surrounded on all sides by
technology claiming to supply information:
Television
Smart phones
Internet devices

Do they provide information

or just NOISE?

THE INTENT TO CARRY INFORMATION

HAS ALWAYS BEEN PRESENT…
WORDS TRANSMIT INFORMATION

 a word is a combination of
sounds that represents
something;
 A word transmits message.

 Words are “informed” because

they carry information
(Chaisson, 2015)
 They communicate meaning
 Words can function across space
and time without reducing their
meaning.
 A speaker can use the same words
over and over again to talk to ten,
hundred or thousands of people
separately or at the same time.
 Nevertheless, the same message
will be received by everyone.
THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE
It helps us to name and classify
objects as the first step to
knowing.
The power of words & language
is the possibility that one’s idea
can simultaneously exist in
another’s.
Human beings can
communicate though words
and thus form a community
 Communication is useful in the
pursuit of knowledge because:
 The power of the communicated
word from the speaker (as the
source/thinker ) and listener (as the
recipient of the communication)
generate a common system useful
in the pursuit of knowledge.

 Science, from the Latin term scire

(meaning to know) is one kind of
knowledge the Greeks wanted to
understand
THE UNIFYING PRINCIPLE IN NATURE:
The idea of comprehending words as
more than just combination of sounds
led The first philosophers (Greeks) to seek
out principles of everyday language.
They believed that the many seemingly
different things in the natural world must
have a “unifying factor”.
There was an inside to be understood.
 MATHEMATICS AS THE LANGUAGE OF
NATURE
 The Scientific Method helped people discover
how nature behaves
 They were able to control nature with technology
 Since people have discovered laws and
language of nature, they can develop
technology that uses these laws and language
for their benefit.
 This language is – Mathematics – the great
contribution of Isaac Newton.
 Nature can then be understood because it
speaks in the language of Math, and the human
brain can comprehend this language.
THE TECHNOLOGICAL WORLD

The ability to think and conceptually

comprehend nature and the
principles it follows eventually leads to
science.

Western thinkers harnessed the forces

of nature after understanding them
better.
Example: The first sailing vessel that
worked through he power of the wind.
THE PRINTING PRESS AND BEYOND

 The ancient fascination with language gave

rise to the preservation of the words of earlier
people in the dark period.
 The power to be informed as a human being
led to the transmission of ideas through hand
copying.
 From this manual action would arise the
technology that would transform cultures –
the printing press - regarded as a technology
that gave the idea that knowledge should be
shared and communicated among humans
would actually be done on a scale
unimagined by thinkers.
THE PRINTING PRESS AND BEYOND
Using the printing press, people on
different sides of the world could
share their thoughts and ideas with
each other, forming communities of
thinkers.
In the age of information, transmission of
ideas has undergone changes. It was
conveyed strictly by rhetoric but by
electronic replacement – the digital
signal or digit.
THE WORLD WIDE WEB

- Is a more modern example of

technology.
- Feeding upon itself is the 20th century
tour de force through the internet.
- Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented it as a
way of addressing data processing
and information sharing needs
among scientists for the European
Organization for Nuclear Research
(CERN).
Remembering the Day the World Wide
Web Was Born

In 1994, a computer program called the Mosaic

browser transformed the Internet from an academic
tool into a telecommunications revolution. Now a
household name, the World Wide Web is a
prominent fixture in the modern communications
landscape, with tens of thousands of servers
providing information to millions of users. Few
people, however, realize that the Web was born at
CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics
in Geneva, and that it was invented by an
Englishman, Tim Berners-Lee.

Robert Cailliau (Author)

What drove Tim Berners-Lee to imagine
this game-changing model for
information sharing, and will its
openness be its undoing?
With the ease of sharing information at
present, its reliability becomes
compromised in the following manners:
1. Disinformation - Anyone with a
connection to other people can produce
contents which are showing half-truths or
even lies, giving rise to disinformation.
2. Biases and beliefs based only on content
3. Harassment and controlling of public
opinion.
4. Easy access to personal information
results to online predation.
5. Identity Theft
6. Scamming

Thus it pays to be vigilant in utilizing

these modern devices at all times.
Considering the many benefits we
get from technologies, we must
also be responsible in utilizing them
to avoid harming others and
ourselves.
Discuss:
1. The Salient features of the Data
Privacy Act.
2. Social media possesses certain risks
especially in the dissemination of
false information. As a student, how
will you use social media to ensure
that you do not propagate
inaccurate and unreliable
information? Write your answers in 5
sentences.
Julius Caesar used the Caesar Cipher -
a technique to promote privacy in his
correspondences

SUBSTITUTION CYPHER – a method of

encrypting a message in which the
letters of a plaintext are replaced with
different ones in a systematic manner.
In a single substitution, the codes may
simple be rotated or shifted alphabet
E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U

F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
Example - The cipher shows a left shift
of one. Using the cipher, the
sentence “I know you” can be written
as “J lopx zpv”.
 Activity: Each group should make
its own code of no more than 50
words by using simple substitution.
Afterwards, exchange messages
with the other groups. The first
group that decodes the message
wins.
Lesson Objectives:
 Define the major potential and
realized impact of
nanotechnology on society.
 Analyse Nano Technology through
the conceptual STS lenses.
 Examine the costs and benefits to
society of nanotechnology.
Why Nano?

The term ”nano” refers to a unit

meaning one billionth or ten raised
-9
to negative nine (1 )

A nanometer is one billionth

of a meter.
Hence, nano expresses a
very tiny amount or size.
 Understanding, shaping and combining
matter at the atomic and molecular
scale is called nanotechnology.

 Nanotechnology encompasses
science, medicine, engineering,
computing and robotics at this
scale, called the nanoscale.
 Nanotechnology offers the potential for
new and faster kinds of computers, more
efficient power sources and life-saving
medical treatments.
Advantages of nanotechnology
Manufacturing Advantages
Nanotechnology is already making new
materials available that could revolutionize
many areas of manufacturing.
Examples:
1) nanotubes and nano particles- are only a
few atoms across could produce novel
materials and objects
2) aerogels- materials composed of very light
and strong materials with remarkable
insulating properties, could pave the way for
new techniques and superior products.
3) robots that are only a few nanometers in
length, called nanobots.
Energy Advantages
• Nanotechnology may transform the ways
in which we obtain and use energy.
 nanotechnology will make solar power
more economical by reducing the cost of
constructing solar panels and related
equipment.
 Energy storage devices will become
more efficient as a result.
Nanotechnology will also open up new
methods of generating and storing
energy.
Advantages in Electronics and Computing
 The field of electronics is set to be
revolutionized by nanotechnology.
 Quantum dots, for example, are tiny light-
producing cells that could be used for
illumination or as display screens.
 A substitute for Silicon chips
 Circuits become so small that if a
molecule is out of place the circuit won't
work properly. Nanotech allows circuits to
be constructed very accurately on an
atomic level.
Medical Advantages
 Has the potential to bring major advances
in medicine.
 Nanobots could be sent into a patient's
arteries to clear away blockages. Surgeries
could become much faster and more
accurate.
 Injuries could be repaired cell-by-cell. It
may become possible to heal genetic
conditions by fixing the damaged genes.
 could also be used to refine drug
production, tailoring drugs at a molecular
level to make them more effective and
reduce side effects.
Disadvantages of Nano
Technology
Economic Upheaval
 Like other technologies before it, will cause
major changes in many economic areas.
 Products made possible by
nanotechnology will initially be expensive
luxury or specialist items, once availability
increases, more markets will feel the
impact.
 Some technologies and materials may
become obsolete, leading to companies
in some areas going out of business.
 Changes in manufacturing processes
brought about by nanotech may result in
job losses.
Privacy and Security
 It raises the possibility of microscopic
recording devices, which are virtually
undetectable.
 It is possible that nanotechnology could
be weaponized. Atomic weapons would
be easier to develop
 The so-called "smart bullet," a
computerized bullet that could be
controlled and aimed very accurately
could be a boon for the military; The
consequences would be dire if these fell
into the wrong hands.
GENE THERAPY
(stem Cells)
-It is the
transplantation
of normal
genes into
cells in place
of missing or
defective ones
in order to
correct
genetic
disorders.
Objective of gene therapy :
 To treat diseases by introducing
functional genes into the body
 To alter the cells involved in the disease
process by either replacing missing genes
or providing copies of functioning genes
to replace non-functioning ones.
 The inserted genes can be naturally-
occurring genes that produce the
desired effect or may be genetically
engineered (or altered) genes.
How gene therapy works:

It has grown out of the science

of genetics or how heredity works

Scientists know that life begins in

a cell, the basic building block of
all multicellular organisms

Humans, for instance, are made

up of trillions of cells, each
performing a specific function.
Within the cell's nucleus (the center
part of a cell that regulates its
chemical functions) are pairs of
chromosomes.
These threadlike structures are made
up of a single molecule of DNA
(deoxyribonucleic acid), which
carries the blueprint of life in the form
of codes, or genes, that determine
inherited characteristics.
DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid
- Double stranded nucleic acids
that contain genetic information for
making proteins
RNA – ribonucleic acid
- type of nucleic acid involved
in transferring information from
DNA to protein

Protein – a biomolecule that

makes up many structural
components of organisms
A DNA molecule
looks like two
ladders with one of
the sides taken off
both and then
twisted around
each other

The rungs of these

ladders meet
(resulting in a spiral
staircase-like
structure) and are
called base pairs.
 BASE PAIRS -

 Are made up of nitrogen molecules

and arranged in specific sequences.
 Millions of these can make up a single
gene defined as a segment of the
chromosome and DNA that contain
certain hereditary information.
 The gene/s formed direct an organism's
growth and characteristics through the
production of proteins, which carry out
most of the body's chemical functions
and biological reactions.
STEM CELL THERAPY - (Samuel Bernal, MD)

A latest medical breakthrough

in the field of medicine.

It’s goal is NOT as a longevity-

ant-aging program, but a
therapy to allow the body to
“heal itself”.
A sample product called:
STEM CELL THERAPY PLUS
 starts with the selection of specific organ cells
from an animal fetus (unborn young) bred
specifically for this purpose.
 years of experience have shown that sheep are
the best donor animals because they are vital,
hardy animals with the best immune systems and
natural disease resistance.
 Sheep proteins are particularly compatible with
the human body and trigger no immune
reactions.
 In Stem Cell Therapy Plus, these vigorous young
stem cells, with active vital life force are ingested
into a human host via high-tech softgel bio-active
Stem Cell PE Capsules.
Lesser side effects

 Since stem cells have NO antigens,

they are NOT recognized as foreign by
the host body.
 They circulate from the site of ingestion
(small intestines) until they recognize
and congregate at the human
counterpart of the organ from which
they were taken – Dr. Niehans
Reflection:

This chapter focused on the developments in

the nano world as applied to animate living .

When identifying the contribution of

technology to biology, the first place to
look into would be the field of human
health which includes:

 Aging
 disease treatment and prevention
 diet, and
 General lifestyle of a person
STEM CELL
PHILIPPINES

Interview of Dr.
Wilson Gan, stem
cell specialist