Roundtable discussion

On the March 4 tutorial class, roundtable discussions were carried out by three groups of students, where topics such as technology resisted or adopted by certain groups, green chemistry and computational modeling in brain studies were being conferred.

The topic on computational modeling in brain studies is particularly interesting as that is a controversial issue where the pros and cons need to be weighed up carefully.

Chongren acted as a moderator who gave an overview of the topic. Yizhou touched on the positive effects of this technology whereas San talked about the potential adverse effects this technology would pose to our lives. Finally, Shiwei emphasized on the regulation that must be imposed on this technology.

Computational modeling in brain studies was theoretically similar to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan. It located brain activities by detecting the level of oxygen in the brain and guessed what a person was thinking about.

This technology was beneficial in the sense that it could be used as a treatment for newborn babies, autistic patients and those who were speech-impaired. Since newborn babies and speech-impaired community were unable to verbalize their needs, brain studies enable their family members to know exactly what they need. By this technology, doctors could detect illnesses suffered by the newborn babies and gave precise early treatment. For autistic patients who hardly expressed their feelings to others, psychiatrics could use this technology to know their minds and gave appropriate counseling.

Besides, police force could use brain studies to detect whether a criminal was lying or otherwise during cross-examination. This could really save many innocent people’s or scapegoats’ lives.

There should be no doubt that this technology brought much advantages and convenience to our lives. However, the other side of the coin can be detrimental when it was misused. Some medical extremist might use this technology to determine if a child is smart and categorized him accordingly. This scenario can be a silent killer to the child or to a family happiness since the parents would have a misconception that their child is not competent compared to others.

There were a few details in this technology that should be ironed out. That was why enforcements must be incorporated to regulate this technology. Standard sets must be drawn up as regards to how accurate the information one could get from brain mapping. Scientists and the authorities must collaborate in order to enhance the accuracy of this technology.

To sum up, this group’s discussion was well-organized and well-researched and left good impression to the audience.