How we got to now

"How we got to now" is a book by Steven Johnson, published in 2014. 

In this book Johnson told fascinating stories of innovations in six areas that shaped the modern world - glass, ice, sound, clean, time and light. He had a unique view angle on technology innovation and its ramification, which might be indicated from the six groups he selected. 

How we got to now is not only about technology itself, but also the impact and ramifications of the technology. For example, in the section on Glass, he told stories on how glass was discovered in the wilderness, and later manufactured in shops, how glass mirror was invented, and same about lens, telescope, microscope. Mirror improves human's self awareness, lens (spectacles, eyeglasses) enabled us to see better, telescope expanded our sights not only to distance on earth but also to outer space which fundamentally changed our world view, microscope allowed to see tiny things we could not see in our naked eyes - which led to breakthroughs in medical fields. A diversion from "seeing", from glass to fiber glasses, a strong ductile material was made from fragile, brittle material, and eventually led to fiber optics - which is the backbone of modern communications.  No wonder he claimed glass was the most important material invented.

What strikes me the most is that we consider all these for granted, rarely or never think of how we got to now. On the other hand, our foresight is very limited - making conclusions on technology impact based on very short term analysis.

The one clear example is about clean - we went from dirty to clean, reduced diseases, improved life expectance, then from clean to super clean, we introduced wide spread allergy in modern societies! 

The other good example is about ice (refrigeration, air condition). Air condition allowed us to live comfortably in hot summer, and then in the desert, where previously few people lived. Now there is a mega city in the desert, Abu Dubai. This seems like a human triumph over nature initially. But in the long run, living against nature has its cost, we need to consume more energy, which in turn make the life style not sustainable in long run. 

The history of plastics, is written about in many books, and plastics is the worst example of long term negative technological impact on the earth and human society. 

How can we as a society, have a historical perspective on technology, and a long foresight on its potential impact? The best way is to study and learn technology history, like we do for human history.

How we got to now made me think, it was a good read.

Notes

1. I actually listened to the audio book

2. LONG NOW is an organization which "encourages imagination at the timescale of civilization — the next and last 10,000 years"

3. Another important theme of the book is that innovation is typically a process, an outcome of  the advance in knowledge base, and there are many people who have similar ideas around the same time, not that only one single genius had a eureka moment. 

Hiking at the Junction of Geylang, Kallang and Rochor Rivers and beyond

Our planned 2-hour outing at Kallang Riverside Park and National Stadium for Sunday May 5th, 2024, was stretched to a 15km, 5 hour exploration and sightseeing at the Junction of Geylang, Kallang and Rochor Rivers and beyond. Gorgeous weather made colorful buildings, lawns, rivers so much more beautiful   - we were pulled forward by the vista!

Kallang Riverside Park

This small park is right at the junction of Kallang River and Rochor River.  It has a large open meadow, and across the bay from National Stadium. Crossing Rochor river over a small pedestrian bridge, and walking through the underpass of Merdeka Bridge, a roof like large building - the Singapore Indoor stadium - appeared in front of us.

This bay was a busy place - a main training place for kayaking and dragon boat rowing. 

open lawn

National Stadium of Singapore

Highrises by Rochor River 

National Stadium (dome) and Singapore Indoor Stadium (The traditional roof like structure) 

Orange roofed condominium clusters

Looking south, a cluster of buildings with bright orange roofs caught our eyes. We saw these buildings from ECP expressways many times before, from afar. Checking maps, the condominium cluster includes Costa Rhu, Pebble Bay, Parkshore, Sanctuary Green, Water palace, Casuarina Cove, Tanjong Ria and Camelot by-the-water.

Looking toward southwest, the Singapore Flyer (Ferris Wheel) and Sands Hotel appeared in the viewfinder. 

The orange roof buildings, the blue sky, white clouds, and palm trees formed a beautiful tapestry any angle we looked at it. 

Stadium Riverside Walk

Turning right and crossing Kallang river via sidewalk on Merdeka Bridge, we reached the national stadium. There was a rugby tournament going on in the stadium. Courtyard of the stadium and stadium riverside walk are beautiful and a good place for some wildlife.

pacific swallows

black napped oriole 

crow

The stadium riverside walk was a quiet place with a different view of the condominium clusters, Singapore flyer and the sands hotel.

Tanjong Rhu Suspension Bridge

Tanjong Rhu Suspension Bridge and Lookout Tower

The suspension bridge connects the stadium area to the condominium clusters. The lookout tower was a good place to enjoy the vista from a high place.

View from the lookout tower 1

View from the lookout tower 2

We were attracted by the beautiful city landscape, and pulled forward. By now we walked 6km already. Not wanting to walk back, we decided to move forward to Bay East Garden and walk a big loop to go back to Kallang Riverside Park

Bay East Garden and Marian Barge

The trail at bay east garden provides a different and beautiful view of marina bay on this Sunny day with blue sky. The downside was that it has no shade and about a mile long. Seeing the marina bay from Northeast in bright daylight provides a totally different perspective and view. I thought that it was worthwhile to have a hike like the one we had at least once. 

Marina Barge

The ocean

a olive backed sunbird

On the trail of Bay East Garden, I saw flying kites near the marina barge. I wonder where the big open place could be. It turned out to be the big Marina Barge rooftop  lawn - it must be of size equivalent to a few track fields. It is a great place to fly kites even on a calm day due to breeze from the ocean. It is also a great place to see downtown skylines.

infinite meadow?

By now we walked about 10km, it was noon time, and we were hot and hungry. We had ice cream and lunch at Satay by the Bay, which is not a single restaurant but a high-priced hawker center.

Bay west

We walked along the bay west/Maria promenade to go back to Kallang Riverside park.  Along the way, at Marina Bay side, we saw sculptures we did not notice before, and saw the man made concrete landscape in new light.

Despite not well prepared to the extended hiking, and some Sunburn at necks and ankles, we thoroughly enjoyed this trail. 

Notes

This is a good long trail at Singapore - varying and gorgeous city landscapes, rivers, and greenery. Only a clear sunny day with dotted white clouds can make it as beautify as we saw on May 5th. The down side of this trail is that it has very limited shade, thus potential of sunburns.

Sunscreen on all exposed body surface is a must. One should reply sunscreen again after 2 hours under the Sun. Sun sleeve, Sun legging and Sun umbrella are great accessories for long exposure to the Sun.

Singapore's UV level is always very high from 9am to 5pm.

Serendipitous Encounters at Sungei Buloh

The moment we stepped out of our car at the Sungei Buloh parking lot on a May day morning, the distinctive call of the white-bellied sea eagles welcomed us with a melodious "aah aah aah aah." It was a delightful surprise to witness these majestic birds rebuilding their nest in the towering tree near the visitor center, especially considering it had been destroyed in a storm back in June 2023.

Gazing upwards, I spotted a juvenile white-bellied sea eagle, distinguished by its brownish plumage and dark-feathered head, perched on a branch overlooking the nest. As we ambled around the pond, the young eagle took flight, but to our joy, the entire family soon returned! Four magnificent creatures graced us with their presence—two adults with grey plumage and white heads, accompanied by two juveniles. They perched on branches beneath the nest, resting and preening, before filling the air with their signature calls. It was a rare sight to behold, witnessing a complete family of sea eagles together for the first time.

The white bellied sea eagles

Our exploration continued along the Kranji coastal trail, where the calls of collared kingfishers and crows provided a familiar soundtrack. Yet, what captivated us were the giant spiders and their intricate webs, encountered no less than four times along the trail. Each spider boasted unique colors and patterns, with one even tending to her brood of baby spiders—an enchanting display of nature's diversity.

there are two small spiders to the right of the big spider

A particularly notable event awaited us at the observation pier in the Buloh Besar River, a site opened for the first time in three years. At low tide, numerous egrets, herons, and painted storks gathered along the shallow river, engaged in a silent fishing frenzy. We witnessed remarkable feats of hunting prowess, including a stork devouring multiple small fish in a single gulp and another triumphantly claiming a sizable catch, and moved on to the river bank to enjoy its meal.

one bite 4 fishes

the caught fish was bleeding!

However, the highlight of our day came in the form of an unexpected spectacle—four crocodiles congregated in the area. From the observation pier, we observed these formidable creatures, with one nearly submerged on the east bank and another, a colossal specimen reminiscent of a whale, commanding attention. 

What made the scene tantalizing was that a great heron flew to the east bank, where the two crocodiles were, and casually walked towards the big crocodile! The heron got really close to the big crocodile, and actually made a catch. However the heron was far enough from the croc, the croc did not even move.

 

 

While our hike through the wetland reserve typically offered familiar sights of herons, egrets, storks, and kingfishers, we were greeted by a delightful surprise—an ash tailorbird, a tiny creature no larger than a tree leaf. Further along the trail, our encounter with two playful otters marked a first for us at the reserve. It was a pleasure to watch them frolic in the sand on the trail before gracefully slipping into the river.

an ash tailor preening itself

As we neared the conclusion of our journey, a troupe of monkeys, led by an alpha male, crossed our path, providing an amusing spectacle, albeit with a humorous moment caught on camera. It was our first sighting of monkeys at the reserve, adding yet another memorable experience to our adventure.

 

Exiting the wetland reserve, we ventured onto the Mangrove boardwalk, where the sight of photographers gathered around a hanging bird's nest piqued our curiosity. Patiently waiting, we were rewarded as the birds returned to their nest, likely an olive-backed sunbird, though the chicks remained elusive from our view.

Truly, serendipity was on our side on this fine day of outdoor exploration, as we reveled in the wonders of Sungei Buloh and the myriad marvels it had to offer.