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INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS:
First, an indispensable thing or entity means that the particular thing in question is absolutely essential or very vital to existence or function of human life.
Something is indispensable when it is too important to do without, whether desirable or not, you must have it around for its values. This is to say that, technology is an indispensable part of human life and poverty eradication; it then implies that indigenous technology innovations are absolutely vital in every sphere of living and human success. It simply means that progress, success and advancement in social, Economic and environmental aspects of living hinges upon its usage and applications. The essence of human existence is progress and development. A person who is living without sustainable progress and succeeding is as good as a being who has not existed at all. This is the reason every living person and societies are working toward progress and advancement.
But if we must succeed and progress, technology must not be seen as an option but rather, a necessity for fast development. And technology in general terms, is the application of resources to solve human problems. In every human life and social environment, there exists problems and challenges to be addressed. Problems like poverty, extreme hunger, unemployment and lack of decent jobs, poor infrastructures – energy, water, health care and good road networks and facilities are some areas that require technology to address and solve. In life generally, our problem is not what we want to achieving but how to or what to use to solve the problem or challenges. And if we must achieve our aim which is economic development, we must adopt a working strategy in solving our multiple problems. That strategy is what is called “Technology” But for technology to be meaningfully applied, resources must be present and well utilized.
But what are resources: Resources, according to the New Webster’s Dictionary is defined as, “a sources of supply or support; something to help when one resorts to for comfort or to gain an end” While the Oxford advanced Learner’s Dictionary defined resources as “a thing that gives help or support or comfort when needed.” Put in another way, resources are things that could be used in making one’s success or dream materialize. Resources could be naturally endowed or artificially created. Also they could be in form of knowledge, or skills, processes, or techniques, tool or teachings or human being. Thus, the practical process of using these resources in solving our day – to – day problem is what is termed technology.
In reality and practical terms, technology, which is the applications of resources to solve human problems, serves two major purposes; it either makes one achieve success easily or act as a catalyst for faster results. Expressly, there are two forms of technology vis-à-vis: - The first form is, responsible for the possibility of our success, while the other form is responsible for making our successful achievements faster than we can imagine. Evidently, people and societies that failed in their efforts to successes in life and business endeavor’s and are poor, have not adopted the use of the right technology.
And this is very true to the situations in most poor and developing countries. African’s poverty despite endowment with abundant natural and human resources is because we do not understand the meaning and the indispensability of technology applications. Africans know that they need success and that there are lots of problems preventing their successes in life, but generally lack the knowledge of the application of their resources in solving their problems. African is said to be the richest and most endowed continent, yet it is the poorest continent on earth. What an irony indeed.
Presently it is reported that it will take Africans 250 years to meet up with the developed world’s standard and levels of advancement. To worsen this report, we are told that Africans are still living in the 1750, which simply means that, our present level of civilization and development was the level of civilization of the whites in the 1750.
If African must move out of the third world nations’ nomenclature to join the group of the first world and developed nations, the implications and dimensions of technology must now be learnt and mastered for its full application. This is because; any person, society or nation even continent that is not technologically inclined will not know or experience improved civilization and advancement.
Since technology is the application of resources in solving human’s day – to – day problems, it therefore follows that any person or nation with many problems unsolved are either not using their available resources or have limited resources needed to solve the available problems. Thus, the proper understanding and application of technology could lead to increment in the resources that are available for sustainable development.
Inno-Native Designs and Technologies: The Cure for Economic Poverty and Under-Development.
Although, technology has been defined as the application of resources to solving human problems, it could also mean the process of converting simple resources into more complex resources needed for solving complex human and environment challenges. Therefore, local or indigenous technology has two primary dimensions. First, it is the process of creating the local resources needed to solve local problems through the combination of simple local resources. The second aspect is the use of raw local resources or the resources created through local technologies application to solving the common problems.
There are obvious reasons why we must appreciate and deeply understand the value of the local resources available to us and how to maximally use them to achieve economic turn-around.
First this is so because most people are faced with problems and the local resources needed to solve them are around them, which they see, but ignores, simply because they are unable to grasp their usefulness.
Secondly, it is due to the fact that the locally available resources might not directly solve the problems we are faced with, but through the combination of resources to form a higher level of resources capable of solving the problems that exists.
According to the historical development of technology, humans discovered the existence of problems that could not be solved by directly applying the natural resources available, except through converting the natural resources into simple tools via the process of carving, chipping, scraping, rolling (the wheel), and sun – baking. As time progresses, simple tools were later discovered to be limited to solve complex problems facing mankind. This evolved further and led to the combination of local resources do make complex tools such as lever, screw, pulley, engine, computer, modern communication device, the electric motor, etc. The increase in complexity of tools also resulted to acquisition of knowledge needed to support the technical knowledge and processes like engineering, medicine and accounting etc. Today, the digital and automation technologies have now taken over and make solving of human problems faster than ever thought about.
Now there is virtually no nation on earth that is void of the resources needed for solving social, economic and environmental problems. Though, some nations are more endowed abundantly as compared to others, but they are not totally devoid of technological resources. The resources available in African for instance, are more compared to other continent in the world.
In fact, Africa is said to own 40 percent of the world’s resources; while other continents share the remaining 60 percent. It then means that Africa has what it takes to be the richest continent in the world, but alas; Africa is rated as one of the poorest continent. The main bane and obvious reason for Africa’s poverty level is, because the people are ignorant of the value of the abundant resources and their applications through technology.
Thus and behold the quickest and permanent cure for global poverty and under-development in Nigeria and the Africa continent is: a re-discovery the value of the abundant local resources that must be harnessed through technology. So, what are some of the local resources that could catalyst development and being about economic, social and environment transformation and development today?
We most again note that technology is not by implications and dimensions, limited to be the application of resources in solving problems alone. But in its wider scope, technological resources are also called technology. In other words, knowledge, skill, processes, techniques, human intellect and energy etc are forms of technology. Apart from tools and machines, in a more inclusive form technology is any entity, visible or invisible, natural or artificial, living or inanimate, needed in the achievement of a particular goal and objective in life.
Viewed in this way, we could isolate some indispensible resources (Technologies) available that could be harnessed in every locality and nations to include:
(1) The human intellect-the brain or the mind, is the foremost and most valuable technological resources needed to overcome limitations and succeed in life. A developed and sound intellect confers the ability to quick, clever and efficient ways of doing things. And this is technology at its best. The human mind as asserted by Joseph Rowland is “his tool of survival.” It is in agreement with this that the economists further defined technology as, the current state of our knowledge (intellect) of how to combine resources to produce desired product and our knowledge (intellect) of what can be produced.
It is from the intellect as inspired by God that secret mysteries of How? Why? And the undiscovered sides of things are made known.
From Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, or Benjamin Franklin, Lord Kelvin and the Biblical Joseph and Daniel, we saw that human intellect is the best and greatest technology available to mankind to transform the earth Thus; every other natural or artificial resource are to the intellect of man to have value. Thus, if human intellects are not sound enough to comprehend the important of the available natural resources, their applications will become almost impossible. As a matter of fact, resources on their own won’t become valuable resources to man until human intellect has become fully development to comprehend their value and importance. In short, it is safe to say that, the human intellect- the mind, is the first and the most important technological resources needed to succeed in life and overcome poverty and all injustices associated with it. And here lies the greatest bane and limitations causing poverty and backwardness of the Africa continent and other developing nations of the world
But with developed intellects, the people will know how to develop local and sustainable technologies from available resources. For quality production, is the application of human reasoning to the problem of survival. It is the human mind that allows for long-range planning and thinking. It enables such creative long-range planning as required for example, the farmers, hunters and craft men to know what they needed for profitable production.
In conclusion, permit me to say that the best help to offer any man, community, nation or continent is the information, and training on how to discover and awaken the fallow lying intellect that is needed to bring forth local resources transformation through technology innovations.
Thus, this extract from the book: “THE ECONOMY OF THE MIND” is the information, knowledge and resources needed to awaken and develop the intellects of the world people for the needed transformation. And this material –book on the: “ECONOMY OF THE MIND” is available as an E-book and Hard Copy at: https://www.amazon.com/author/amosobi
In all my over 50 authored and published books and various innovations and patented inventions, I can proudly say that this is the best material I have given to my world. You will do much favor to the world by making sure that this material is circulated to every mortal living around you. By so doing, we would have help to cure, heal and transform the world through the empowerment of the human minds. Congratulations and thank you for being part of this global transformation project.
Though the HETAVED BRAIN TRIGGER AND TRANSFORMATION CLUB INTERNATIONAL, we are available at: https://balancedlivingacademy.blogspot.com for further continued training, mentoring and resources sharing to make sure that every human being living today are beneficiaries of this indispensible information and resources. You are welcome with your questions, contributions, expertise and even donations to make the publication and circulations of this book and project global for the common good and benefit of all people and planet earth.
BRIEF ABOUT THE AUTHOR DR. AMOS AZIAKPONO OBI-
- AFFILIATION-Amos Obi- Principal Innovator and Strategic Director, HETAVED SKILLS ACADEMY AND NETWORKS INTERNATIONAL
Online Reference at: ENDORSED MB-MEANINGFUL BUSINESS 100 for the SDGs @ https://bit.ly/2NwQxz6
AUTHOR PAGE @ https://www.amazon.com/author/amosobi Or
YOUTUBE CHANNEL @ https://www.youtube.com/c/AMOSAOBI
Amb. Dr. Amos Obi-Principal Innovator and the Director of:
1-MINI GLOBAL HETAVED SKILLS NETWORKS LIMITED at: https://hetavedskillsinnovations.blogspot.com
2-HETAVED SKILLS ACADEMY FOR INNOVATIONS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP at: https://balancedlivingacademy.blogspot.com
3- HETAVED DIGITO EDU PRENEURSHIP HUB at: https://hetaved-skills-academy.teachable.com
4- NATURE FIRST FARMACY at: https://naturefirstfarmacy.blogspot.com
5- Initiator of the course on: INNOVATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GREEN ENTERPRISES, now being offered in many universities across Nigeria at: https://www.youtube.com/c/AMOSAOBI
Based in Oleh/Ozoro, Delta State, Nigeria Dr. Amos is an Inventor, Social Entrepreneur and Creative Writer. Academically, Amos is a versatile academic with vast studies and practical exposures in Pharmacology, Science Technology, Computer/ Digital Technology and Theology.
Of most recent, Dr. Amos has been name among the 100 Meaningful Business Globally for the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda by the Hottopics International at: https://bit.ly/2NwQXZ6
Amos has been Awarded Eminent UN Peace Ambassador during the UN International Day on Climate Change for Peace 2019 by the International Association of World Peace Advocates in recognition of his efforts in promoting peace and the UN Sustainable Development Goals- SDGs toward achieving the 2030 Agenda.