Fruit Police, Cane Toads and a Touch of Paranoia (Wk 13)

His hands grip the steering wheel tightly. His knuckles go white. Beads of sweat appear on his forehead. As he approaches the border, he forces himself to pace his breathing and tries his best to look nonchalant. He’s not sure it’s entirely working as he winds down the window and the officer shines a light in his eyes. He can’t do it, he realises. Surely he’ll be found out. It is then he hears those fateful words. “Hey mate, got any fruit?”

To foreigners… and many Australians in fact, it seems completely ridiculous how paranoid our country is about taking fruit over the border… and bringing food or plants etc. into the country. However, for a country with our unique ecological history, it is not so surprising.

Cane Toads. Rabbits. Prickly Pear. What do they all have in common? All of them were introduced to Australia with devastating results. We often joke about cane toad golf, but for many Australians, this is serious. We are at war. The cane toad, and many other species, were introduced to Australia with very little foresight, by people who did not yet understand the complex ecosystem they were introducing them to and the destructive effect they would have on it.

Systems can be awesome things. It’s pretty amazing to see so many parts work together and watch the way they all affect each other and rely on one another. Effective systems are a real strength. It’s pretty incredible, for example, to see how the Australian ecosystem doesn’t just cope with bushfire, but uses it- to allow new growth. But, as is clear from the destruction caused here by introduced species, the interconnected nature of systems can also mean vulnerability.

In many ways, the Internet of Things sounds like an incredible network, which gives us a ridiculous amount of flexibility. However, I can’t help but feel suspicious as more and more of our lives are connected to the internet. I know I’ve joked about our evil overlords; Google and Facebook before, but these jokes aren’t completely baseless. The truth is, the more connected everything is, the more corruptible. In the back of my mind as I consider the Internet of Things, I can’t help but wonder when Big Brother will make his appearance. In my paranoid mind at least, it can’t be too much longer before we realise that we are living out the plot of about 200 different sci-fi movies as something decides to exploit this system. And I wonder if there’s anything we can do to stop it. Maybe, it’s as simple as understanding the system and being more aware of how the different parts affect each other. Or maybe we’ll be attacked by something completely out of the blue. Or maybe nothing bad will happen at all. *cough* *cough*

Whatever happens, I’m sure I will remain simultaneously enthusiastic and paranoid about it all.