Akufo-Addo’s plagiarized speech, an enemy of Science and Technology

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ADJOA WANGARA 8 years ago

It's very sad a nonentity imbecilic idiotic Ghanaian like Francis Kwarteng exist and happen to be in the USA.

The 50/50 Asante/Fante moron francis kwarteng is a total disgrace to mankind.

It's very pathetic that a woma ...
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It's very sad a nonentity imbecilic idiotic Ghanaian like Francis Kwarteng exist and happen to be in the USA.

The 50/50 Asante/Fante moron francis kwarteng is a total disgrace to mankind.

It's very pathetic that a woman will carry her pregnancy around for about 9 months and reproduce a waste being in the creature of Francis Kwarteng...sad!!!
King Lomotey 8 years ago

ADJOA WANGARA is the same person as Francis Kwarteng. Only comes on Ghanaweb
Only to comment on what Kwarteng writes.
I have never seen her feedback on Ghanaweb without Kwarteng.

ADJOA WANGARA is the same person as Francis Kwarteng. Only comes on Ghanaweb
Only to comment on what Kwarteng writes.
I have never seen her feedback on Ghanaweb without Kwarteng.
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Ofinso-Kokote Asamoah 8 years ago

This piece is needless. There are more pressing issues to debate on than this petty squabbles of an NDc man Clad in Nkrumahist colors.

This piece is needless. There are more pressing issues to debate on than this petty squabbles of an NDc man Clad in Nkrumahist colors.
GREAT TRUTH 8 years ago

NDC national PORN STAR, Ayariga pornographic sex video is an enemy of moral values. Ayariga's sex video demonstration of his sexual prowess is a clear indication of how notorious NDC party has eroded moral values in our socie ...
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NDC national PORN STAR, Ayariga pornographic sex video is an enemy of moral values. Ayariga's sex video demonstration of his sexual prowess is a clear indication of how notorious NDC party has eroded moral values in our society. A minister of state, Ayariga, who sold Ghana's mineral resources just for sensual sex gratification.

This is an enemy of Ghana's moral values. Where are the NDC thieves?
No smoke without fire. 8 years ago

Keep on uducating us

Keep on uducating us
Akora Oteng( 8 years ago

We do not need LECTURING anymore.Do you have any IDEAS at all , practically to AFRICAN LEADERS? WE need them to move AFRICA together FORWARD, and FAST.

We do not need LECTURING anymore.Do you have any IDEAS at all , practically to AFRICAN LEADERS? WE need them to move AFRICA together FORWARD, and FAST.
slyster 8 years ago

Ghana right now is on it's knees begging for survival due to mahama"s leadership. Mr ancient hippopotamic " ape if you have any good ideas that can bring the country yo it's former glory you better do that. Please stop exhi ...
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Ghana right now is on it's knees begging for survival due to mahama"s leadership. Mr ancient hippopotamic " ape if you have any good ideas that can bring the country yo it's former glory you better do that. Please stop exhibiting animalistic behaviors and act like a normal human being for once. Prove to all Ghanaians that your big head is not full of hot air after all . What I'm i even thinking, A FOOL MIGHT HAVE HIS COAT EMBROIDERED WITH GOLD, BUT IT IS STILL A FOOLS COAT. Kwateng or whatever you call yourself help build the nation and stop your useless criticism.
Tekonline.org 8 years ago

Quite frankly, I was confused by the title.

But, politics aside, the write-up has many points deserving our attention and reflection.

(1) "...The fact is that it is technology—and not natural resource assets per se— ...
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Quite frankly, I was confused by the title.

But, politics aside, the write-up has many points deserving our attention and reflection.

(1) "...The fact is that it is technology—and not natural resource assets per se—that truly rules the world. Ghana and Africa for that matter, if we may also add, are far behind the technological race.

We cannot overemphasize that technology does harbor enormous implications for health, agriculture, energy, food production and security, employment and unemployment issues, environmentalism, life expectancy, problems of water management and engineering, and so on..."

So true, but Africa, in a way, has a chance now to be a major player in the current rapid pace of technological advancements. Technology today has significantly moved away from being MACHINERY-based to having SOFTWARE as the main driver. Unlike industrial machines, software's main "infrastructure" is none other than the HUMAN BRAIN. And there are main fine African brains out there, from Chinery-Hesse to Bright Simmons, to all those Nigerian girls that write code for Google.

Africa must aggressively embrace software development, because, as Marc Andreesen famously put it, "software is eating the world". Let's start with the young, opening coding academies all over the country, and expanding the computer science departments in every educational institution. Let's put learning languages like PYTHON before French (and perhaps our francophone neighbors might flock to Ghana to learn computer programming).

(2) "...Let us just say that technological innovation represents the missing link between natural resource assets and true wealth.

And yet technological innovation is a state of mind. It is a state of mind because the conceptual origination of technology itself does not exist outside the creative immanence of human consciousness.

It is also possible that the optimal interactions between immanence and the environment are what dictate a particular strategy of technological response to the human condition..."

There is indeed some truth in all that. But let me emphasize the true qualities exhibited by scientists and technologists.

Scientists make discoveries because of three main attributes they tend to possess:
- being OBSERVANT
- being CURIOUS
- having the ability to "CONNECT THE DOTS".

A good example is the discovery of the microwave oven. Percy Spencer was working on a radar equipment and noticed that a chocolate bar in his pocket was melting as he switched on the machine. He OBSERVED, became CURIOUS, and by a series of fact finding investigations and discussions, he finally "CONNECTED THE DOTS" and the microwave oven was born.

Similarly, James Gordon, one of the physicists responsible for the discovery of the laser (without which there would have been be no CD and DVD players), got the idea of the laser while watching the ball during a tennis match.

And most profound of all was the discovery of the Genetic Code by Watson and Crick. Rosalind Franklin obtained the X-ray crystallography of DNA, but as soon as Watson and Crick looked at the X-ray film, they quickly "connected the dots" and came up with the revolutionary Genetic Code, which gave birth to the modern field of Molecular Biology.

Students at all stages should be made to cultivate the skill of "connecting the dots", which is the art of drawing logical conclusions from observations. For instance, if whenever you use a particular perfumed soap, you hardly get any mosquito bite, you can connect the fragrance with a potential mosquito repellent.

Engineers and Technologists (often considered applied scientists) also share some of those three charactesritics, but are first and foremost PROBLEM SOLVERS.

Technological innovations involve the use of scientific discoveries for solving problems. Inventors are always seeking problems to solve. Being very observant, they do notice problems and quickly set out to provide solutions.

Our Ghanaian royal handlers being such great problem-solvers, managed to create those huge umbrellas for the chiefs (why didn't they get into manufacturing small umbrellas for the general public?).

And even more fascinating, we hear the Ashantis have a way of gold-plating the skins of their dead kings. (yet,Science tells us it's next to impossible to bond human skin with metal).
But, our market women STILL carry goods on their heads, a problem still waiting for a solution after hundreds of years, or nobody has yet OBSERVED?

Inventors go out into the world seeking technological problems to solve. It cannot be any simpler than that.

(3) "...This is why we need to put up the proper institutions to produce the kind of human capital with enormous capacity for technological innovation. .."

We already have the proper institution. WE NEED TO EXPAND AND SUPPORT CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research).
Our scientists and engineers in the universities will always be distracted by the 3 'T's: TEACHING, TRAINING, and TESTING students. Therefore lets move CSIR forward by infusing plenty of funding and resources to tackle problems and innovate for the future of the country. Let's expand CSIR to cover EVERY aspect of the Ghanaian life.

(4) "...we need to consider bringing our great men and women of the diaspora, in the West especially, such as Dr. Victor Lawrence, on board..."

This cannot be overemphasized, for we have SO MANY Ghanaian experts in the West. In fact, any discussion about the development of the Laser cannot be complete with the mention of Prof Herbert Winful, one of the smartest Ghanaians that ever lived (as Augusco guys would attest to)

laserfest.org/lasers/pioneers/winful.cfm

Or Dr Louis Essandoh, who trains American doctors to become cardiologists,

Or Kwamena Adu Boahen, who designs computer chips to based on how the human brain works,

And hundreds more, too numerous to mention here.

It is also very refreshing to learn that a Ghanaian scientist at NASA is now collaborating with CSIR in the field of Robotics.

It is soooo obvious -- Ghana has so much to gain by tapping the brains of diasporans. PLEASE START NOW!

(5) "... We also need to fight institutional corruption, promote an enabling culture of inventiveness, take S.T.E.M.-education Information and Communication Technology (ICT) seriously, collaborate with others already in the lead of technological innovation and scientific advancement, incentivize innovative researchers in S.T.E.M. education, and change the current system of education where rote memorization dominates..."

To accomplish this, first and foremost we must stamp out hardships. As long as the kids and the populace at large are not HUNGRY, they would care about STEM, innovation, inventions, discoveries, etc.
And that is the part for the politicians!

Third world countries tend to lag behind in technological innovation because they, by and large, have no choice but to operate in the "survival mode", almost all their lives, with the minds preoccupied with putting food on the table, making ends meet, and so on.

But since we cannot wait for the politicians to create a wealthy paradise for all, the least we can do now is to provide INCENTIVES.

As part of STEM education, organize Science Fairs, with door prizes, awards, and scholarships. Bring STEM to every home through fascinating documentaries on every TV set. Organize excursions for elementary school kids, taking them to wonders of science and technology (Akosombo dam, MRI machines in the hospital, a TV studio, inside a jet plane at Kotoka, the various factories in the country, etc).
Give an i-Pad to any student that comes up with an innovative technological idea, even on paper.

Yes, there is so much that can be done to make Africa catch up!

Happy Memorial Day, Francis, and hoping your hamburgers wouldn't turn soggy from all that rain!.
francis kwarteng 8 years ago

Great contribution right there Tekonline.org.

Your contribution here is a near-exhaustive article in and of itself. But always remember that this was a partial response to your SIL question, as well as that software is a ...
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Great contribution right there Tekonline.org.

Your contribution here is a near-exhaustive article in and of itself. But always remember that this was a partial response to your SIL question, as well as that software is also in and of itself technology. This partly explains why I did specifically mention such fields as operations research, analytics, etc., where software development and use is of paramount importance.

Thanks for the insight and enlightenment. Happy Memorial Day to you too. I hope you will always come to share your great insights with all of us.

Thanks.

THE REAL C.Y. ANDY-K 8 years ago

Indeed, Tekonline's contribution is a great one in response to a great article. It puts to shame all the uncouth characters with nothing in their brains except insults. They are too stupid to know that they are giving the NPP ...
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Indeed, Tekonline's contribution is a great one in response to a great article. It puts to shame all the uncouth characters with nothing in their brains except insults. They are too stupid to know that they are giving the NPP which they support a very bad image internationally.

With the Ghanaweb format allowing for charts and tables now, I believe more serious articles will be attracted from academics and professionals.

I once to suggested to Francis to create subscription only section for Ghanaweb where such articles and unpublished conference papers can be published after review or editing, if necessary. A fee may be paid for downloading some. With no anonymity assured, there won't be any yobos insulting people on such a platform. Volunteers in various fields would be required to make possible the review aspect.

Andy-K
Koo Darkey 8 years ago

With the accusation of plagiarism notwithstanding, brother Kwarteng, Ghana and Africa have to do something about Science and Technology. What do you suggest? Those engaged in galamsey don't understand science and technol ...
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With the accusation of plagiarism notwithstanding, brother Kwarteng, Ghana and Africa have to do something about Science and Technology. What do you suggest? Those engaged in galamsey don't understand science and technology, do they?
Wisdom Mensah 8 years ago

THE REAL C.Y. ANDY-K, don't you feel ashame to write that kind of Ewe Trokosi selfish madness? You primitive stupid useless Ewe. Leave Ghanaweb,go to Togoweb and spew your nonsense!
"Avuu Kokolo! Anyaminor!"

THE REAL C.Y. ANDY-K, don't you feel ashame to write that kind of Ewe Trokosi selfish madness? You primitive stupid useless Ewe. Leave Ghanaweb,go to Togoweb and spew your nonsense!
"Avuu Kokolo! Anyaminor!"
Dr. Otto 8 years ago

If you people want to read proper English grammatical, sensible and educative article, better read Rockson Adofo and not Francis Kwarteng and his stupid tribal and partisan friends like Prof Lungu, C.Y. ANDY-K etc. They don't ...
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If you people want to read proper English grammatical, sensible and educative article, better read Rockson Adofo and not Francis Kwarteng and his stupid tribal and partisan friends like Prof Lungu, C.Y. ANDY-K etc. They don't make sense and besides they write one-way, rubbish English, tribal and partisan bullshit especially Francis Kwarteng.
Kwadwo Gyamfi 8 years ago

You are not serious fake Dokita! Adofo is a lousy writer

You are not serious fake Dokita! Adofo is a lousy writer
francis kwarteng 8 years ago

Dear Nyebro Yao,

Long time, no see.

Of course, Tekonline.org's contribution is a great one.

And yes, we need more contributions like Tekonline.org's.

We also need more of those educative articles like the one E ...
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Dear Nyebro Yao,

Long time, no see.

Of course, Tekonline.org's contribution is a great one.

And yes, we need more contributions like Tekonline.org's.

We also need more of those educative articles like the one Efo Solo wrote recently.

Let us keep the debates and education alive, and going.

We need to move forward as Ghanaians and Africans in terms of technological innovation, bearing Tekonline.org's ideas in mind.

But Ghanaweb needs to take your suggestions seriously. Nyebro Yao, you have said it all.

Thanks Nyebro Yao for your insightful and captivating presence.
King Lomotey 8 years ago

I bet you won't admit that you are ADJOA WANGARA - Deny or admit, noncommittal means you are ADJOA.

I bet you won't admit that you are ADJOA WANGARA - Deny or admit, noncommittal means you are ADJOA.
Tekonline.org 8 years ago

...KWABENA Adu Boahen (Stanford University), who designs computer chips based on how the human brain works. (His work became the cover story of the Prestigious Scientific American).

...KWABENA Adu Boahen (Stanford University), who designs computer chips based on how the human brain works. (His work became the cover story of the Prestigious Scientific American).
Marcus Ampadu 8 years ago

I see a more sustainable Africa bouncing back eventually, after wisely adhering to STEMIC:
Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Innovations, Communications.
Can we expect our leaders to be ICT savvy?
With our ch ...
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I see a more sustainable Africa bouncing back eventually, after wisely adhering to STEMIC:
Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Innovations, Communications.
Can we expect our leaders to be ICT savvy?
With our chiefs becoming proficient in ICT & managing all their affairs using ICT, meaning their subjects too have to know ICT.
francis kwarteng 8 years ago

Where have you been Brother Marcus?

I called you a few months back but never got you.

I will get in touch.

Where have you been Brother Marcus?

I called you a few months back but never got you.

I will get in touch.

PK Oko 8 years ago

Kwarteng stop being a hypocrite and go on to answer Marcus Ampadu, you can call him later!

Kwarteng stop being a hypocrite and go on to answer Marcus Ampadu, you can call him later!
Marcus Ampadu 8 years ago

Thanks PK Oko, I seriously believe that we can use digital means to catch up with the advanced nations, & even overtake them because we have the resources & we are more creative than them,

Thanks PK Oko, I seriously believe that we can use digital means to catch up with the advanced nations, & even overtake them because we have the resources & we are more creative than them,
Kk 8 years ago

Did you read the inaugural speech by the president?

Did you read the inaugural speech by the president?
Osei Boakye 8 years ago

Kk, don't mention Akufo Addo's inaugural speech. I couldn't believe that he included the notorious Baffour Akoto and the tin-horn dictator Jerry Rawlings in the speech. Nothing to write home about!

Kk, don't mention Akufo Addo's inaugural speech. I couldn't believe that he included the notorious Baffour Akoto and the tin-horn dictator Jerry Rawlings in the speech. Nothing to write home about!
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Maria Miller 8 years ago

Francis Kwarteng wrote:
"The collaboration between the KESHE Foundation, BONADES Limited, and the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission is an excellent example in knowledge partnerships and transfer."

No, no, no!!!
The Keshe f ...
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Francis Kwarteng wrote:
"The collaboration between the KESHE Foundation, BONADES Limited, and the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission is an excellent example in knowledge partnerships and transfer."

No, no, no!!!
The Keshe foundation has no knowledge. Mr. Keshe lies and the whole Keshe foundation seems like an huge cult.

Beware of this man, he has nothing to offer but words.
He said he can do "antigravitation" but never showed it.
He said he can produce gold, but never showed it.
He says he has spaceship-knowledge, but this is just ridiculous.

Keshe is a dangerous, sick man. He never showed any proof, never!
David Opoku 8 years ago

Yes, the Keshe foundation hasn't any technology to offer. There is no knowledge. Keshe's trick is to make big promises. Ghana - the first african nation with space program! The greed in the people awakes. But it is nothing bu ...
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Yes, the Keshe foundation hasn't any technology to offer. There is no knowledge. Keshe's trick is to make big promises. Ghana - the first african nation with space program! The greed in the people awakes. But it is nothing but superstition! Don't follow a charlatan. Ghana shouldn't waste time and money and later wake up with a big disappointment.
ST 8 years ago

Oh, that is funny! The title says: "...enemy of Science and Technology" and then Keshe is given as a better example? Keshe is the worst enemy of science and technology you can imagine. I followed the discussions about Keshe a ...
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Oh, that is funny! The title says: "...enemy of Science and Technology" and then Keshe is given as a better example? Keshe is the worst enemy of science and technology you can imagine. I followed the discussions about Keshe at other articles. And I made a little internet search... It is obvious: GAEC is making the biggest mistake ever in trusting the charlatan Mehran Keshe. Who will stop the governmental institution GAEC? They waste the money of the people of Ghana. Keshe seems to have some believing followers, but if you listen to his talking... Everybody can recognice him at once as a criminal liar.
Energy-production, gold-production, space-travels, feed people without food. AIDS-healing, malarya-healing, agriculture benefits etc. Mr. Keshe promises all you want but of course never shows some proof!
Keshe tried his tricks in Europe and he failed. Now he tries in Ghana. And there it is easier for him. It seems to be that superstition is normal in governmental institutions. Poor Ghana! The bigger the promises the more they believe?

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Akufo-Addo’s plagiarized speech, an enemy of Science and Technology

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