The life on earth had evolved from stone age to modern age.
The development history of mankind during this evolution is amazing. The
current age is termed as information age in which development is at a lighting
speed.
In ancient days there was little importance for keeping an
information in written form. In India only a few people who were regarded as
higher caste were able to read and write. Others were denied the right for
studying ! Hence the data they received from their ancestors were transferred
to their successors in a traditional way among the high caste only.
When human progressed he began to think himself. When his
thoughts became restless he began to search for information. These searches
lead him to the scripts kept in the houses of high cast people. Once he
received those data he began to think for a safe custody of the same. Some
people even thought about a storage that every one can access. Thus there came
the idea of internet storage of data and information.
The data and information had significally changed the life
of ordinary people. Once upon a time people were totally unaware of the
forthcoming natural calamities like storm , earth quake etc. Even birds and
animals knew about them in advance while intelligent human didn’t. Hence after
such a calamity the life loss was tolling to 1000s. On the other hand now , the
weather data can be collected by satellites and processed at satellite centres.
These information can be broadcast to people likely to be affected. So they
can be moved to a safe place in advance.
Eventhough technology had developed, man had became time
less. The duration of a day in stone age was 24 hours! Still it is 24 hours !
But in the run for life we feel days are splashing behind curtains. Now he had
no time to visit even his blood relatives including parents. So it ends in a
phone call , message or a mail. The job is not confined to his or her office only
but can be carried out at any place. The work time is not fixed, any time round
the clock he can work. Banking and shopping not need his physical presence at
that place , but can be carried out through internet. How is all these
possible? Just one answer – all the information to carry out these transaction
are already stored.
My state Kerala is going to step to a new era of information
flow. Through the introduction of e-governance project common people will get a
lot of services that he needed , through internet. He himself can get all those
services from the respective authorities within some clicks. Surely this online
activities will reduce corruption. Also as all actions are electronically
recorded there will not be any time delay. Even he is able to check the status
of his service request. So the life of people will get a lot of convenience if
he utilizes these services effectively.
In spite of all these information overflow , the curse of
third world countries poverty and pollution are still growing. Eventhough
people in developed countries knows that the food that he wastes everyday is
enough to feed a starving family, the technology has not developed to that
level of distributing them to the needy. Eventhough some organizations are
acting in this field the speedy transfer from place to place is always a
barrier. So I don’t think data and information will rescue people from poverty.
The million dollar question is still remaining – will all
data and information add to the health of the planet ? My answer is definitely
it will add. In ancient days in my country India the information were stored in palm leaves by
inscribing on it. Cutting of the leaves resulted in destroying a lot of palm trees.
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| Palm leave manuscripts |
Later there came the paper storing method. But the papers were also made from
bamboo. Finally there came the storage
of data and information in internet. So the use of papers were reduced to a
larger extent which helped to save trees and there by to protect the greenery
of earth. At the same time the threat of e-wastes has been increased due to the
thoughtless usage of e-gadgets.
The data and information had given a boost to human
progress. But its by products had given a boost to the ill health of the earth.
So it is the responsibility of every human being to use the technological
developments wisely. Let us keep an eye on earth.
