Flat World: One More Post
Ok - this is my last post on "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman. The book is full of interesting ideas, but it seems unfair to the author (and potential readers) to list all of the ideas that I liked. My intent is to give a taste of the themes in the book, so that others might be inspired to devour it themselves.
In the early 60's, John F Kennedy challenged the country to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. At the time, we were in the midst of the Cold War and we seemed to be losing the space race. But JFK realized that the space race was really a science and education race. His challenge required us to modify our education system to produce more engineers and scientists. The goal of putting a man on the moon, was a tangible vision that could be embraced by all citizens. This effort inspired the nation. By winning the space race, some would argue that we won the science race and the Cold War. It certainly provided basic science research that was very beneficial to our economy.
Friedman argues that we are in danger of losing the "flat war" race. Many jobs are moving offshore. At this point, most of the jobs have been manufacturing, call center, or sustaining-type of jobs. However that is starting to change. We are seeing more and more product development type jobs moving to other countries. In fact, Microsoft and GE have set up basic research labs in Russia and China.
Our university system is still the best in the world, however there are troubling signs. We are in a trend of cutting funds that are dedicated to basic science research. For years the intellectual elite would come to study at US universities and then stay here. Other countries are making major efforts to improve their universities. China has made an objective to make some of their universities on a par with Harvard and Stanford. Elite students are choosing to stay at home for their education. Plus, many students are choosing to return to their native country after their studies in the US are complete. With the "flattening" of the world, more challenging job opportunities are becoming available in their own country. These trends are weakening our Universities.
Friedman argues that we need an inspirational goal to get the nation passionate about the "flat world". He suggests that Bush create "a national science initiative that would be our generation's moon shot: a crash program for alternative energy and conservation to make America energy-independent in ten years." Achievement of this goal would have some surprising side effects. It would have a major impact on terrorism. Much of the funding for terrorism comes from oil exporting countries. Making such an impact on Global Warming would also improve our standing in Europe and the rest of the world. It would again require us to create more engineers and scientists. It would also generate basic science research that could be used to fuel our economy.
This initiative would be very appealing to me. Plus, I think that this initiative would have broad appeal across the nation (and the world). The author is a columnist for the New York Times. He has discussed this idea several times in his column. These columns have inspired by far the most positive response of any columns that he has written. He is especially impressed with the response that he has gotten from young people.
In the early 60's, John F Kennedy challenged the country to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. At the time, we were in the midst of the Cold War and we seemed to be losing the space race. But JFK realized that the space race was really a science and education race. His challenge required us to modify our education system to produce more engineers and scientists. The goal of putting a man on the moon, was a tangible vision that could be embraced by all citizens. This effort inspired the nation. By winning the space race, some would argue that we won the science race and the Cold War. It certainly provided basic science research that was very beneficial to our economy.
Friedman argues that we are in danger of losing the "flat war" race. Many jobs are moving offshore. At this point, most of the jobs have been manufacturing, call center, or sustaining-type of jobs. However that is starting to change. We are seeing more and more product development type jobs moving to other countries. In fact, Microsoft and GE have set up basic research labs in Russia and China.
Our university system is still the best in the world, however there are troubling signs. We are in a trend of cutting funds that are dedicated to basic science research. For years the intellectual elite would come to study at US universities and then stay here. Other countries are making major efforts to improve their universities. China has made an objective to make some of their universities on a par with Harvard and Stanford. Elite students are choosing to stay at home for their education. Plus, many students are choosing to return to their native country after their studies in the US are complete. With the "flattening" of the world, more challenging job opportunities are becoming available in their own country. These trends are weakening our Universities.
Friedman argues that we need an inspirational goal to get the nation passionate about the "flat world". He suggests that Bush create "a national science initiative that would be our generation's moon shot: a crash program for alternative energy and conservation to make America energy-independent in ten years." Achievement of this goal would have some surprising side effects. It would have a major impact on terrorism. Much of the funding for terrorism comes from oil exporting countries. Making such an impact on Global Warming would also improve our standing in Europe and the rest of the world. It would again require us to create more engineers and scientists. It would also generate basic science research that could be used to fuel our economy.
This initiative would be very appealing to me. Plus, I think that this initiative would have broad appeal across the nation (and the world). The author is a columnist for the New York Times. He has discussed this idea several times in his column. These columns have inspired by far the most positive response of any columns that he has written. He is especially impressed with the response that he has gotten from young people.
posted by Steve @ 6:09 AM
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