Hi Tech
Professor Cheok of Nanyang University in Singapore has developed what he calls internet pajama. This device is designed to allow parents to hug their children at a distance.
So how does this work? The parent hugs a teddy bear, which is equipped with sensors. The child wears a kind of jacket which transmits the sensation. The jacket is fitted with heated copper wires.
Professor Cheok regrets that technology drives people apart. Instead of spending time with each other, we sit glued to the screen.
Unfortunately, parents can not decline work commitments to spend time with their children. Since baby monkeys grew up healthy as long as they were touched, he thinks this could be an alternative.
A similar product has been developed in Japan. It is 90% accurate at detecting emotions in messages. It then translates these into a more touchy-feely experience, mimicking heart beat or hugs.
Exercises
| 1) | Do you understand all the words in this text? Check in a dictionary! | |
| 2) | a. | Professor Cheok says that parents can not turn down work commitments to spend time with their children. Is this true? If so, what does it say about our society? Write a short text with your ideas. |
| b. | What are the main ideas of your text? Write some keywords. | |
| c. | List keywords from the different texts on the whiteboard. Discuss in class. | |
| 3) | Can "healthy" mean different things? In which sense do you think that the baby monkeys grew up healthy? Discuss! | |
| 4) | What happens to a child if nobody hugs it? What happens to society? Discuss in small groups. | |
| 5) | a. | Write a short fiction story, set in a society where human emotions are communicated and expressed through electronic devices like internet pajama. |
| b. | Publish some of your stories in the school newspaper. |
