12.the Inspirer Twelfth Edition

7/31/2019 12.the Inspirer Twelfth Edition

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2/162th Edition / April 2012

By Mirralaxmi

By Rizwan

By Hussam

By Arif

By Su Quin

By Chui Ping &

Yin Chung

By Ashraf

CONTENTS

Many pondered as to what innovationis all about. I suppose we have to live

with the fact that such distinct quality

regularly requires infamous acts or

thoughts. Sadly, with Malaysiansclassic Tak-Apa-Lahhh attitude in place,

many chose to follow rather than to lead.

Often enough, being innovative means that

one must not conform to his or her environment. Nodoubt one might fail, pathetically for many times,

but eventually one will run out of things to gowrong, then things will work out just fine.

In this edition, The Inspirer brings to you onthoughts about both leadership andinnovative qualities by our very own

Vice-Chancellor, Datuk Dr ZainalAbidin Haji Kasim.

Besides, one editor has shared

about how innovation was

incorporated into olden days

warfare. Truth is,

thinking-out-of-the-box laments

the fact that innovation knows

no boundary. Take chances!

Be different!


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12thEdition / April 2012

Science and technology have always been related to innovation. Many of the products we use in our

daily lives are the results of never-ending innovation by experts in their respective fields. Creativity isdefinitely at the core of innovation. The ability to come up with a fresh new idea is creativity. Innovation,onhe otherhand, is to sharpen and polish an existing idea so that it will serve its purpose better. Therefore, wean say that without creativity, there will not beinnovation.

Personally, I feel creativity was at its peak during the era of Albert Einstein, Thomas Alva Edison,Alexander Graham Bell and many more great minds in the past. They were the ones who initiated newdeas out ofnowhere with limited resources in hand. The world of science and technology owe these creators

an infinite amount of gratitude. Imagine how miserable this world would be without major inventions like

lectricity, X-

Ray machines and so on. Even though as a student, we might not like their contribution muchor the added content they place in our study syllabus, let us still appreciate their contribution as they havemade this world a better place to live in!

As compared to the past,innovation is more prominent now rather than creativity. Existing and old deas are made better by fitting them with the latest technologies. Lets take the telephone for instance. The

original invention of Alexander Graham Bell was huge and bulky. Innovation is the word that transformedhat telephone into what we have today: A slim, trendy device that allows us to do almost anything.

Considering how vital innovation is in human life nowadays, the question to ask is how innovative are we?And by innovative, I dont mean the kind where you spend your time copying your friends assignments

answers with slight adjustments here and there)In UTP, the Science and Engineering Design Exhibition (SEDEX) is truly a platform to highlight

nnovation. Many projects are displayed and the bests are awarded. Students should utilize this opportunity tobrainstorm and work on strategies to provide practical solutions to existing problems. The more we think out of

he box, the more innovative we get. It may be that we are so used to doing things a certain way, that we tendnot to see beyond what we can actually see. If thats the case, our true potential will never be discovered. Wehave to demolish this barrier and train our minds to work differently. Every problem should be viewed as anopportunity towards spectacular solutions rather than annoyances in performing daily activities. For example,

or places with limited land area, building skyscrapers is the solution rather than not to build at all. Salt waterreatment is the solution for places with limited water resources. In fact, the idiom necessity is the mother ofnvention definitely holds true as it is the intensity of a problem that determines the level of innovation within

a country. Island nation such as Singapore and Japan who suffer from limited resources are forced to innovate

n order to compete and survive.We can also apply this in UTP itself. There are so many issues readily available here that needs better

practical solutions. For example, the fire alarms in the hostels that get triggered all the time and clothes thatwill never dry during rainy seasons. So to all the brainy UTPians out there, heres your challenge: Are you

nnovative enough to suggest a good solution? Are your lists of As just a mere product of pure memorizationkills or can you really put into work what you have learnt from the textbooks? If youre up to it, an Opennnovative Challenge gold medal in SEDEX might be waiting for you!

Therefore, we have to be ready to be out of our comfort zone, be daringly innovative and strive hard

or excellence in order to be a successful person in life. This rapidly progressing world is not going to wait forus, so lets pace up and run the race of life.

Life is a race. Run it in your own unique way, - Anonymous


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The denion of innovaon is given by Tro in 1998:Innovaon is not a single acon but a total process of interrelated sub processes. It is not just theconcepon of a new idea, nor the invenon of a new device, nor the development of a new market.

Current denions range from the highly specic to the highly generalized. What is

common in most denions of innovaon is a focus on novelty and newness and that it creates

prot or adds economic value to the organizaon responsible for it. Originality and newness is

acceptable, however the fact that an innovaon must create prot or add economic value is a

mistake as innovaons do not always create value for an organizaon. One such example of an

innovaon that did not add value to its organizaon was the Sinclair C5 electric car. Sinclair

Vehicles was put into receivership on 12 October 1985. Joseph Schumpter lists ve types of innovaon denions: 1. Introducon of a new product or a qualitave change in an exisng product 2. Process innovaon new to an industry3. Opening of a new market4. Development of new sources of supply for raw material 5. Other inputs and changes in the industrial organizaonGenerally innovaon denions are derived from one or a combinaon of the following: The generaon of a new idea:

This is where new ideas are formed from old ideas, or new relaonships /

perspecves are formed between enes or subjects The invenon of something new:

A new product or service The diusion of new ideas:

The transfer of new ideas to new geographic locaons


By: Rizwan Nasir


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Improving something:This can be improving a product or service for example to make it commercially

viable as Thomas Edison did with the electric light bulb or it can be improving a system

or processDoing something dierent:

Geng to the end result of a task or problem by doing something radically dierent to

what would be expectedAdopng something new to the social seng to which it is applied:

This is where something that has proven to be successful or useful elsewhere is

used to a similar advantage in a new environment Market based:

An innovaon that is developed to meet the needs of a market New perspecve:Seeing something from a new perspecveIncremental improvements:

Making incremental improvements to a product or service or implemenng connuous

improvement (kaizen) as can happen from applying Lean techniques ypes of Innovaon

here are many dierent types of innovaon with the two most popular types being Incremental innovaon Radical innovaon.

cremental innovaon exploits exisng products, processes or technologies by improving on what

rrently exists, whereas radical innovaon uproots exisng markets by providing something

ompletely new to the world.oduct, Process and Service Innovaonshen most people think of innovaons they think of product innovaons but to mass produce an

novave product at a price that the market will accept, aprocess innovaonneeds to be rsteated.ocess innovaons can also occur to simply reduce the number of steps in an exisng process so as

reduce the overall cost of running the process and consequently reduce the cost of the end

oduct. One parcular example of a process innovaon is a supply chain innovaon which if doneell can oen assist you in gaining a compeve advantage. There are also servicenovaons.Oen good service leads to increased sales and some companies have based theajority of theirbusiness models on ensuring that the service they provide to their customers is

ne of themost innovave.onclusionnovaon is very important in every eld of life. An innovave mind creates new ideas for the

eerment of organizaons and individuals.

http://www.innovation-creativity.com/services-innovation.htmlhttp://www.innovation-creativity.com/services-innovation.htmlhttp://www.innovation-creativity.com/services-innovation.html


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ARE WEARE WEARE WE

GETTINGGETTINGGETTING

IT RIGHT?IT RIGHT?IT RIGHT?

Over the past few years, the world has started to appreciate innovation and creativity more and

more. This is because it has been clearly observed that the economic development and prosperity

of a nation are directly correlated to its level of innovation. As a matter of fact, if you look at all

the Fortune 500 companies, you can see that innovation is a substantial part of their work

culture; companies like Apple have become synonymous with innovation. This realization of the

importance of innovation has been translated in the form of incorporation into schools and

educational institutions, to the extent that some countries have dedicated whole ministries and

governmental bodies for that sole purpose, such as Malaysias Ministry of Science, Technology

and Innovation. Evidently all these efforts are aimed at producing creative and rather innovative

individuals and citizens. Now the critical question that poses itself in this context is: Do these

measures and efforts truly cultivate innovation? Is it enough? Or could it instead be damaging for

innovation?

Innovation is defined as the ability to convert unique and novel ideas into practical services and

products, whereas creativity is the capacity to come up with original ideas. So, we can safely

assume that creativity precedes innovation or in other words it is a prerequisite to innovation,

simply because we cant be innovative if we dont have creative ideas in the first place. Hence, a

special emphasis must be laid on creativity in solving the innovation problem. Statistically

speaking, developed countries tend to be more innovative than their developing and poorer

counterparts. There are a number of factors behind that trend such as the lack of preliminary

infrastructure, motivation, societal recognition, educational system and the list goes on. But of all

these factors, educational system can be identified as the chief factor because it represents the

stage at which all potential innovators and thinkers will be shaped. In general, the problem that is

encountered in most human societies, especially those of the third world is that we tend to be

excessively reluctant to all new ideas and patterns of thinking. This represents a hindrance to the

generation of novel ideas and stunts the growth of creativity which results in the elimination of

any possible innovation. This unintentional systematic rejection of creativity can be further linked



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From history we can cite many examples of individuals who had been criticized, rejected andven persecuted for their novel ideas and creative ways of thinking. One of such examples is

he case of the Austrian physicist Ludwig Boltzmann, who came up with the revolutionary

oncept at that time of randomness and disorder in thermal processes. He introduced this

notion of probabilistic entropy into the second law of thermodynamics. During his life time,Boltzmann was fiercely opposed and criticized simply because his idea contradicted the

dominant norm and pattern of thinking at that time which was mainly dependent on classicalNewtonian physics that granted certainty and predictability. It could be argued that his radical

deas were rejected for their social implications, how they threatened the social hierarchy at

hat era, but yet the main reason behind the opposition can be fairly attributed towards the

eluctance towards change. Boltzmann was unfortunate and he later committed suicide, but

nevertheless his creative way of thinking opened a whole new range of innovative products

hat have greatly improved our lives today.

As a result of the many cases of remarkable men and women who were hurt and rejected for

heir creativity during the Renaissance and Middle Ages (only to be later appreciated and

ommemorated), the Europeans and other first world countries have learnt the lesson to

appreciate and respect the different ways of thinking. Ultimately, these differences are what

would culminate in creativity and marvelous innovations. Now getting back to the societies

of developing third world countries, we can evidently see that we havent overcome this

obstacle yet! Our reluctance and fear of change can be detrimental to the extent of reaching

ainotophobia, which is defined as the persistent fear of change and new experiences. Somepeople might argue that extreme openness would have backlashes in terms of the fading of

national cultures and beliefs, but I am quite sure that any person with the slightest rationality

would be able to differentiate between creativity and that fear. In short, the concept here is

rystal clear; for us to develop and assume a leading position in the future, we ought to

abandon our fear of change and embrace a creative way of thinking. Only then will the

nnovation we are so looking for be produced.


Education helps us to be

innovative


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The recently concluded CeBIT (German for Centrum fr Broautomation,

nformationstechnologie und Telekommunikation, literally the "Center for Office Automation,

nformation Technology and Telecommunication") provided a nice coincidence to this edition of

The Inspirer. Dubbed the worlds largest trade fair showcasing digital IT and telecommunicationsolutions, this event annually transforms the district of Hannover in Germany into a hub buzzing

with innovations, innovativeness and innovative people. One of those people was the chairman of

Google, Eric Schmidt. According to him, much of what were merely fancy fantasies in the past is

now fast becoming reality thanks to the rapid advancement of technology that we enjoy today. The

uture increasingly looks more like the sci-fi world envisioned in Star Trek or The Hitchikers

Guide to the Galaxy.

For the benefit of non-Trekkies and those who did not manage to attend CeBIT, TI has decided to

ome up with a list detailing three innovations each from the IT fair that we think you should look

orward to, those that the jury is still out on and those that you should avoid at all cost.

THE GOOD

Robots galore

Any event that relates to technology would not be complete without your friendly

neighbourhood android and CeBIT was no different. Two of the most interesting robots present at

he fair were a drawing robot capable of sketching a picture of its subjects in just three minutes by

he Fraunhofer Insitute, and a robot designed to do chores learned by simply observing you by the

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. With the concern for security and the storm surrounding

household maids ever growing, these robots definitely provide a welcome alternative.Automobile assistance

Now who said geeks arent car junkies? Many of the innovations on display focused on

mproving our safety and efficiency on the roads. Take the car-traffic light system aimed at

liminating vehicle accidents by the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Systems and Device

Technology. Instead of the usual pedal-to-the-metal attitude one has upon seeing the yellow of the

raffic light, the system ensures cars slow down as the traffic light is turning red. Not to be outdone,

he German Robotic Innovation Centre came up with a shrinkable car that can reduce its size by up

o 50 cm in order to park into tight spaces. Not only that, it can even join up with similar cars to

orm a train which allows energy to be saved. Safe, green and practical; what more can you ask for?



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Help for hapless gardeners

A somewhat more advanced sprinkler system was developed by the Zurich-based firm Koubachi;somewhat here meaning a whole lot more. The firm came up with a device that will look after a

plant by monitoring its moisture, temperature and sun exposure levels. The device will then send

out a set of instructions to the owner informing and reminding her of her plants needs. I wonder if

they have a module for the Rafflesia?

THE QUIRKY

Shoot to kill

Are you the type of person who always misses class due to

unintentionally shutting off the alarm clock whilst still stuck in dream-mode? If you are, then the laser target alarm clock by getDigital was

created just for you. As the alarm sounds, the only way to stop it is by

shooting a bulls eye on the clock with a laser beam. Although we

see the logic, were afraid that a laser-

wielding-

half-

asleep personmight blind everyone else in the room before waking up.

Something for every couch potato

Still related to sleep, the Wellness Lounge by BrainLight promises to refresh its users by

lulling them into a 20-minutes sleep through a relaxing combination of sound, light and massage.

While the offer sounds ordinary enough, the amazing thing about this chair is that the effects of

dozing off in it should be equal to that of a 2-hours sleep! Unsurprisingly, the chair drew a long

queue as people are really keen on increasing their productivity by wasting less time on sleep.

However, we at TI do not necessarily agree with this and are strong advocates that nothing beats 8

hours of sleep per day, or a third of your life.

iAnywhere

Dutch company Phoneclip has stayed true to its name and created a phone clip. The clip is meant

for those who cannot stand the suffering of being separated from their phones, at all, as it attaches

itself and your phone to almost every surface including but not limited to the toilet wall, bicycle

handlebars and even sportswear. This definitely sounds like a mishap waiting to happen.

THE BAD

1) Two robots that gyrated around poles to the beat of a third robot DJ. This just goes to

Show that a creative mind does not necessarily make a healthy mind.



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The trick to finding ideas is to convince yourself that everyone and everything has a storyto tell. I say trick but it is in fact a challenge considering how hard it is to do!My instinct

as a human, or our instincts as humans, is to find most things in life not interesting. Weflip through tens of channels before finally settlingon one. We go to Borders and scanthrough rows of books before finally picking one up. We humans are picky and indecisive.

Finding a topic to write on was equally ashard; Imust have thoughtand thought of about a hundred ideas,

before comingacross an article on hair dyes and its stories by Malcom Gladwell. I hope this article willgive a glimpse into someones life and inspire some thoughts.

Shirley Polykoff, one of America's best ad writers, always dyed her hair. At home, starting fromfifteen, she would go to Mr Nicholas's beauty salon and he would 'lighten the roots' until all traces of her

natural brown hair were gone. She thought she ought to be blonde- or to be more precise, she thought that the

choice to be blonde was rightfully hers. Shirley was always dressed in deep reds, cream and royal hues. Once,she had flagged down a truck, and the truck driver told her he had picked her up because he'd never seenanyone quite like her before. She was flamboyant and brilliant and vain in an irresistible way. Shirley wrote

lines for Clairol (an old self-colour hair brand). Among her famous lines were Does she... or doesn't she?. Asa woman of the 50s, she entered the workplace and fought for social emancipation all the while trying tomaintain her feminine side and not to overshadow her husband. Her salary was never raised, howeverdeservingly, and it wasonly after the death of her husband that it did. Shirley believed that a woman had the

right to be blonde; she also agreed that a woman should exercise that right with discretion. That was the sixties,an era where hair colour was an exotic cultural norm. As for the answer of whether she does or doesnt, well it

Hair colour so natural only her hairdresser knows for sure.

Another hair dye ad writer, Ilon Specht was just as creative and captivating. Ira Madris, a colleagueof hers mentioned that Ilon was the craziest person I ever worked with using crazy as the highest

compliment. Brilliant. Dogmatic. Highly creative. Ilon had a degree of neurosis that made her veryinteresting. Ilon was working with LOral, a French company challenging Clairol on hair dyes. She was ayoung and loud twenty-eight year-old college dropout from California, naturally rebellious andunconventional. Unlike Polykoff, she had long thick black hair and lipstick of maraschino cherries. Working in

a corporate world of old men, she rejected the idea of creating an ad about looking good merely for men; Itwas four weeks from the deadline and with their discussion not going anywhere, she exploded and explainedthe reason why she used the most expensive hair colour in the world: She appreciates its quality and doesntmind spending more on it. Because I'm worth it. And that became LOral's signature tag line.

When it comes to constructing our sense of self-worth, we borrow bits and pieces, ideas and phrases,rituals and products from the world around us. These influences, in some small but meaningful ways, shapeour identity. Our religion, the food we eat and the clothes we wear matter, but sometimes the hair dyes too.What I'm trying to say is that these ladies of the fifties and seventies had offered something in their

commercials that political movements and ideologies cannot: Personal transformation. They were women ofdifferent ages who strived to prove their talent, adjusting to the social norm along the way.

In what way are they significant? They were brilliant women who captured the particular feministsensibility of their day. The power of advertising and theirproducts gave us a chance to be different. We

changed our hair! No words can describe the effect of a campaign phrase connecting with its consumers andits psychological impact on their self-esteem. As a woman of the new age, a deeper understanding of theworth of oneself is important. Reading accounts of stories of women through the ages and of different social

backgrounds has touched a part of me that calls for a re-examination of my own place, identity and emotional

life. To me, the short stories of Shirley Polykoff and Ilon Specht in a small way explore the confoundingmysteries of human history, character and perhaps intelligence.



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12/1612thEdition / April 2012

In your experience, have you failed

at accomplishing any task that was

under your leadership?

will leave it to my staff and students to identify

hat. A good leader is never satisfied in what is beingchieved. There is always work in progress foretterment of not himself but for the people and the

rganization. The transformation plan we started aew years back is progressing well and God willingur aim to be recognized as a research university inhe country by 2013 would be achieved. We must

ontinue to propel this university into one that is wellespected and internationally renowned. Leadersome and go and leadership styles vary but thespirations of the university remain intact. Everyone

must be committed to realize the vision.

Do you think innovation is an

important aspect in UTP?

nnovation does not mean innovation in terms ofroduct, technology or IT, but also its innovation inerms of teachings and ideas. Part of the innovation

hat weve created here in UTP is the transformation

rojects. We would like to transform UTP into aentre of creativity and innovation. It is annhancement of research. We must provide an

nnovative environment so that students and staffsan do excellent research leading toommercialization of findings.

How can we prepare our studens

for a paradigm shift for

innovation? What are our

strengths and weaknesses?

f we talk about the technical aspect of innovation,what is weve done is weve given students a chanceo expand their horizon and mind through providing

variety of clubs and organizations for exampleSIFE, SEDEX and AIESEC. These events promotereativity and innovation. Through joining thesevents and organizations, students will learn new

echniques on improving the running of their clubs

nd organizations. Besides, our internship program isdesigned to prepare students for real life workingxperience .

I would also like to encourage students to get anoverseas internship because there are a lot to learn in an

overseas environment. .Also, innovation can be applied to a students style oflearning. Students can try out various techniques tostudy. They cannot study in isolation. Furthermore,

UTP is providing the state of the art for all equipmentsfor all. On the part of management, we will continue toenhance the capabilities of our staff through formaltraining, postgraduate studies and on-the-job

attachments

Any tips on how to be a good boss and

a good friend at the same time?

To be a leader he must know how to play his roles well

when dealing with different people. He must have hisown principles, firm and no-nonsense attitude but bears

with no malice. Of course, leaders must be respectedbut respect is not demanded whereas it must to beearned. Otherwise, he is an ordinary person outside ofthe office. He should be able to converse with all staffs

regardless of positions. With that, he needs to bemodest and humble in his approach.

How do you stay motivated as a lead-

er? what keeps you motivated?

Success follows with passion and I guess I am lucky tohave developed passion in my work. This quality

drives me to do as much as possible and together withthe support of the Board, staffs, students, and clients. Ihave always believed in healthy lifestyle. By that, abalanced diet, regular exercises and sufficient sleep

are a must for me to enjoy my work and be

productive.


13/1612thEdition / April 2012

hat often clashes with leadership

s the human touch or the ability

o accommodate others needs, what

do you think?

eaders are human beings. All decisions made must

holistic, taking also into account the rational andmotional aspects of things. We deal with humans andhile we would put ourselves in their shoes, thetimate decision will be based in the internet of theople and the organization, not of an individual. This

ll be easily done if leaders are in constantmmunication with their followers and understandeir concerns. A good leader walks the talk and he ist always at the ivory tower. Otherwise, you are out

touch.

ifferent environment requires

ifferent set of leadership skills,

hat makes a good malaysian lead-

r?

ood and successful leaders of the world havemmon traits visionary, inspiring, influencing and

utperforming. He knows the way, shows the way andes all the way. If there is any difference, perhaps

ne needs to be extra careful when dealing with sensi-vities with regards to different cultures, race andligion. When we have different races in a country, aod leader must be able to provide them with good

ucation, employment and other basic necessities tosure all will live in peace and harmony.

What do you think about the best

innovative ways of teaching?

ecturers must be continuously trained. They arenstantly being coached and mentored by senior

cturers or professors. Their works are also beingsessed by senior professor to maintain and improvee qualities in their teaching. Of course, lecturers andofessors must be good with IT so that they can teach

ing the latest technology in teaching which arenstantly being updated. Lecturers should alsoways have a positive mindset to accept new andnovative ideas and concepts. Students must also

ciprocate to the effort the lecturers and professorsve put in, by way of giving positive feedback andsuring that the class is interesting via a 2-way

teraction.

How are the leadership qualities

amongst students in UTP?

When we established this university, we aim to make asubstantial contribution to the nation and to make adifference. Hence, we concentrate on a unique quality

proposition which is to address the long term need for anew generation of technically qualified leaders, not justmerely adding in numbers of graduates into technicalfields. We paid particular attention to the development ofthe soft skills right from the day we enrolled our students.

I am extremely proud on the leadership qualities of ourstudents as being measured by the feedback from manyemployers and the successful events organized by ourown students internally or externally. The fact that more

than 85% obtained employment 6 months after graduationproved the same. The soft skills of our students, which ismeasured and assessed by the Ministry of HigherEducation, are above the average of all other universities

locally.

Any last words for our readership?

We must carry a positive mindset with us all the time, nomatter how difficult the people or the environment canbe. We must know how to balance our life between work

and play. I think our first wealth is health, without that,

we cant carry out our daily activity properly. To besuccessful in life, you must have your own vision andmission, dont be easily affected by what others people

said. Never feel embarrass to learn by asking otherpeople, regardless of their status. Learning is a never-ending process. The words such as thank you, sorryand please are important to people. Dont take things for

granted. Lastly, you must not let down the high hopes andexpectations of the people that matter to you.

.~ Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin B Hj K asim~


14/16

Dont give them fish; give them the fishing rod and the patience to wait.

Part of the profound legacy that is the Roman Empire lies in its contribution to the civilization of man. From the

construction of magnificent infrastructures to the maxims introduced in agriculture, the Romans modernised theway people lived.

That being said, the greatest innovation of all that the Romans owed their supremacy from was the

establishment of the Roman Legions by Augustus Caesar which would eventually become the most fearedinfantry by the barbarians and the Parthian Empire alike. To understand why, lets take a look at the structureand conduct of this formidable war machine.

A legion consisted of 3 main bodies; The Equites were 300 heavy cavalry whose function was to outflank andward off enemy cavalry as well as attack the enemy main line from behind. The second body of 1200individuals was the Velites or light infantry. Their main function was to pepper the enemy line with missilesallowing for the Heavy Infantry, the third main body, to be deployed behind them. The Heavy Infantry

consisted of 3000 Roman citizens and their purpose was to engage the enemy line and shred them into pieces.

In terms of equipment innovation, the Romans were truly the masters of the art of war. The barbarians stood nochance against the sophistication of the Roman war artillery, mainly the ballista, Scorpio, heavy onager

and catapult. However, the difficult task facingRoman emperors was to form a well-disciplined infantry that

could withstand the heat of battle. In those days, despite any superiority in weaponry, courage, strength andvalour remained the eventual determinant for success.

The revolutionary military training in the camps of the Legionnaires was the key in the Roman Military arms.So intensive was the training that courage was instilled in the weakest of citizens who enrolled in military

training. Enter as a boy and come out as a man, they say.

The training included weapon drills, marching training and tactical exercise. They were trained to thrust their

short sword behind their large shield. By doing so, they were protected behind their shield while constantlydealing lethal thrusts. Even more amazing was that every layer of men supported each other from the rear.

Other products of Roman military exercises taught Legionnaires to obey commands and assume formation at aninstant. Imagine being ambushed by an enemy while marching; only a hardy army can move quickly into

position without any confusion.



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he training included weapon drills, marching training and tactical exercise. They were trained to thrust theirort sword behind their large shield. By doing so, they were protected behind their shield while constantly

aling lethal thrusts. Even more amazing was that every layer of men supported each other from the rear. Otheroducts of Roman military exercises taught Legionnaires to obey commands and assume formation at anstant. Imagine being ambushed by an enemy while marching; only a hardy army can move quickly intosition without any confusion.

he barbarians, in comparison, were ferocious but they were not organized. They lacked any proper training,ere deficient in military tactics and were technologically inferior to the Romans. The Pathians, on the othernd, were numerous in number and splendour, but disloyal and had no true valour or courage. Thus, the

rbarians and Parthians both had to give way to the superior Roman Legions. As we are describing the qualitiesthe Roman Legions, it is only proper to examine the merger between the human and the physical innovation

at took place. Let us think for awhile, without properly trained people to handle the advance armaments, wouldey be put to good use? Can they achieve the lethal purposes they were created for? Subsequently, could the

omans rule the world if they could not win wars?

he essential point is that physical innovation must be concurrent with humanistic innovation reforms ofuman behaviour and conduct. In fact, the latter is more important than the former. It is the human values of any

ocess that will carry the day towards success or failure. Good human values bring success while bad onesing disasters. The very reason why the Roman world collapsed was in fact because the Legions misused theirwer, disobeyed the civil government and lived luxuriously as the benefactors of immoral tyrant emperors.

aking this principle to the modern world, it is seen that our technological advancement has reached an all time

gh. However our manners have degenerated back to the uncivilized age. In politics, we have a democraticstem but it is constantly abused by corrupt politicians. In business, we see people use money to distort the lawrough bribery. In the financial system, bankers print funny money money out of thin air. In times of war,e hear how soldiers with superior technology kill innocent civilians and how dictators insensibly murder their

wn citizens. Amazingly, we are affected too. We take in alcohol, smoke, enjoy excessive entertainment andndone free sex. There is no more sanctity in taking care of health, moderation and marriage. The sin ofdulgence has caused us to live just like the barbarians; even they at least preferred proper marriages andndemned adultery.

herefore, what is needed in todays world is not a school to teach law and science but a school to teachanners and good behaviours. That being said, religion is one of the most important schools of proper conduct.teaches virtues and generosity to human kind as well as the laws of life. All great empires survived becauseey were technologically andmorally advanced. The Romans were paganistic but they believed in honour and

ndness. The Chinese Empire lived with the values of Confucianism and Taoism. The Mauryan Empire ruled

dia with military strength as well as Hinduachings. The Ottoman Empire ruled supremecause they had Islam.

conclusion, if we do not remake our generations

aracters to be filled with good virtues and manners,ver time technology will only function to corrupt us

d the modern world will collapse just like previousmpires. Dont give them fish; give them the fishingd and the patience to wait. The rod which is the

chnology used is useless if one cannot patientlyait for the fish to eat the bait nor will breaking thed in two be of any help. Human value yet again ise determinant for success.



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12.the Inspirer Twelfth Edition

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