Comment on 'Grasping the tree of life: There is an app for that, too'

     Sudhir Kumar idea of phylogeny and timescale are so technologically applicable up to this point and time in our modern society that now iPAD and iPod Touches are being used to research the connection (i.e., psylogeny) and origin (i.e., timescale) of organisms. Robert Karl Stonjek says the technological concept and application is a “powerful tool for understanding the interrelationships and diversity of living things (para. 4). Frankly, I’m not surprised it has come down to this. The way that technology to booming at an exponential rate is astounding to the Baby Boomers and even Generation X, but common place for “Millennials or Generation Y” followed by the “New Silent Generation or Generation Z (Rosenberg, para. 1).” Looking at all this hand held technology surrounding us now, I think I know why the next generation has been dubbed silent. Everyone is so absorbed into looking down into their handheld devices that they neglect interacting with the random people around them, but I digress. Now, with this particular application, all consumers may see the world’s abundance of life at a fingers touch. It was really interesting how the speaker last Tuesday (i.e., November 16, 2010) spoke about his grandparents using rocks for retaining and gathering information and now we use technological rocks for the same desired recollection. According to the article, we’re now using these metal rocks to research ancient rocks. Go figure. Accessing a browser which contains 160,000 organisms and their lineages opens a window of opportunity for all curious and analytical minds to develop a better understanding of the complex diversity of life and how vitally important this diversity is to the natural sustainability of the planet.

References

Rosenberg, M. Names of Generations. Retrieved November 21, 2010, from

     http://geography.about.com/od/populationgeography/qt/generations.htm

Stonjek, R. K. (2010, September 20). Grasping the tree of life: There is an
     app for that, too. Retrieved November 21, 2010, from
     www.physorg.com/news204219074.html