Asian Geographic Issue 01/2018 (129) | Page 10

{ EDITOR’S NOTE } ASIAN Geographic can be found on board and at the following locations: Airlines & Lounges Clubs & societies Photo © Fu Dingyan; Image courtesy Royal Observatory Greenwich “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology” CAFÉS & Restaurants tOURISM BOARDS Carl Sagan, scientist and author E ver since the creation of the Internet, the world seems to be moving much faster than its leisurely 1,600 km/h in space. New inventions rise, phones go obsolete in the blink of an eye, fresh concepts materialise at a dizzying pace, and every day brings with it an unending procession of predictions, discoveries and novel ways of combining precious metals and powerful processors to create ever more tech magic. It’s exciting, and exhausting too. China can’t be ignored in this conversation. It spent the past decade ratcheting up its global influence with a combination of market size and manufacturing muscle, and its efforts have paid off. It’s now at the forefront of cutting-edge lifestyle technologies, and its burgeoning middle class has access to unparalleled conveniences, like apps that do hospital registration, utilities payments, stock investments, and all three at once (page 70). In fact, China’s so far ahead of other countries that it’s now exporting and innovating tech, where only a decade ago it was still very much considered a copycat. Then there’s science. As the world catches on to the importance of quality education, and nations get richer, parents and governments are striving to ensure every student learns the basics of h ow things work on our complex planet. Stargazing, for one, seems frivolous enough, but is in fact an activity with deep historical and scientific value that is poised for a comeback in the region (page 52). Even the poorest citizens of developing countries are starting to embrace the idea of using science to improve their lives. Cambodia’s farmers and indigenous peoples are now learning about nutrient-depleted soil, deforestation, and how the micronutrients in bat faeces could be the solution to their fertiliser woes (page 86). If even they can muster the effort to learn, then all the more we must try: To keep up with the ways tech develops science, and science develops tech, and the ways they intersect so beautifully to forever alter the way we live. To keep our eyes and ears peeled for ideas with promise. And to educate ourselves as well as we can, so we know what’s going on around us and how it all works. attractions commercial centres hotels & resorts Newsstand Distribution ASIAN Geographic can be found in the following countries. If you have difficulty finding us on newsstands, please contact our distributors: ChinA and HONG KONG Times Publishing (HK) Ltd; INDONESIA Java Books; Philippines Alpha Stream Marketing; Malaysia Pansing Marketing Sdn Bhd; Singapore Singapore Press Holdings Ltd; THAILAND Asia Books Co Ltd media correspondents India, Sri Lanka RMA Media, Faredoon KUKA • [email protected] Nepal, Bangladesh Media South Asia (P) Ltd • [email protected] Thailand Radius • [email protected] China Hainan Periscope Social Media Company • [email protected] Japan Keiichi ARANTANI • [email protected] Other Asian Geographic Magazines Pte Ltd publications & events: a BEIJING/ SHENZHEN/ HONG KONG R ACHEL GENE VIE VE CHIA