The book I introduce to you today is called The World is Flat.
(i)
No matter how good things are, if they have nothing to do with you. This thing, then, is just the gossip of life, not a necessity.
That's why people need to ignore something.
Life is complex and short, we can't live too busy to come, except for the nature of watching hilarity, our vision does not go beyond the circle of our lives.
When I read The World Is Flat (Second Edition), I also had the mentality of watching the hilarity, and Mr. Thomas Friedman told us that the world is flat. Then, listen to the people around you discuss whether the world is flat or uneven.
But how much does the world have to do with whether the world is flat or uneven? Can it help us flatten house prices, or can we buy cheap and reliable meat? Or do we complain about labor and money, and worry about education?
If you count 56 yuan, you can't buy a few pounds of meat. Fortunately, spiritual enjoyment still shows eternal value in the baptism of time.
Recently, I re-read the book. Some understandings that are different from the past gradually emerge and become clear.
Simply put, I think that The World Is Flat (Second Edition) is not about the problem of the world being uneven, nor is it a treatise on the value of the Internet.
The declaration that "globalization has brought about a flattening of the world" has long been discussed in Friedman's book From The Lexus Car to the Olive Tree.
In this book, the author first enumerates the impact of new technologies on humanity, and then the author uses "the world is flat" as a hypothesis or premise, as a basis for a reality that has developed into trends and future futures, on the basis of which Friedman, as an American, speaks of his own worries and worries.
I believe that "The World is Flat" is the American strategic conception of their own survival in the 21st century, and it is also a concentrated embodiment of the American people's sense of distress. It is equivalent to what we often say, the dangerous words of the prosperous world.
(ii)
Why?
Let's take a look at Mr. Friedman's train of thought:
At the beginning of the book, Friedman recounts several of his experiences in India. In the outsourcing companies in India, his old man saw something that worried many Americans: because of technological advances, and especially because of the rapid development of the Internet, the rules of the past that relied on geopolitical advantage are being defeated by a force that destroys the ancients. Young Indians who have received higher education are embracing a happy life of less than 1/100 of the standard income of ordinary Americans with full enthusiasm.
Friedman was deeply aware that when I was in my dreams, the world had flattened.
Friedman then summarizes the top ten technological reasons that have leveled the world. In an era when technology is king, this is a rather interesting summary, and all the important technologies related to the Internet are listed. No wonder, first-time readers are easily confused by it: everyone on earth knows it, do you need to say?
However, Friedman did not stop. He knew the United States all too well: As the only country on earth that had not suffered from war for the past 40 years, after experiencing the victory of the Cold War, the political and dollar strength, the Americans who created the Internet platform, the smart people are smarter, and those backward middle class who want to sit back and enjoy it, it is possible that in the future competition, they will not be able to continue the current rich life.
Friedman declared that "the world is flat," recalling what his parents used to say as a child: Tom, eat your bowl clean, and don't forget Chinese is starving. And now, his advice to American parents is this: Kids, do your homework, and don't forget Chinese or Indians are eyeing your job.
In a flat world, there are no jobs for americans, and anyone, as long as they have the ability, can compete.
To help the emerging middle class avoid the onslaught of flattening, Friedman summarized the job skills needed for future survival, simply like this:
[1] People with the ability to cooperate can survive;
[2] Compound talents, as the saying goes, generalists, can survive;
[3] Super expression ability, as the saying goes, people who will fool can survive;
[4] People who know how to weigh and have a big picture can survive;
[5] People who can change themselves at any time can survive;
[6] In new fields, such as the environment and biological industry, people who innovate and develop can survive;
[7] People who increase the value of individuality can survive;
[8] People who combine local cultures can survive;
To reach these skills, Friedman makes some points about the necessary knowledge or foundations:
[1] Curiosity and passion are more important than IQ;
[2] People with good emotional intelligence are easier to cooperate with people and more likely to succeed;
[3] Sensibility is the most difficult part of high technology to replicate, and Friedman completely transferred pinker's "New Thinking" perspective. (Insert: there is a Chinese version, worth watching);
[4] Cultivating all-rounders: paying equal attention to science and art;
Behind so much soft knowledge, Friedman came to the conclusion that the Americans would still win in this initial competition for the future. Of course, if you don't want to win, you don't have to write this book.
Friedman then immediately pointed out where the current crisis in the United States lay. Friedman tells us with apprehension that he sees potential, quiet risks coming towards America:
[1] Danger 1: The number of scientists and engineers who are U.S. citizens is declining, while the number of jobs that require this professional background continues to grow;
[2] Danger two: there is a problem with basic education. 60 percent of the top students in the natural sciences and 65 percent of the best in math came from families newly immigrated to the United States;
[3] Danger three: the gap in aggressiveness. Chinese and Indians are harder, more motivated, and more able to live in harsh conditions;
[4] Danger Four: The U.S. education system needs to be reformed, and we must find a way to educate young people at a higher level;
[5] Danger five: Before the Chinese catch up, our infrastructure construction in education should have no end, and there is no best, only better, for all kinds of new thinking;
[6] Danger Six: Broadband access in the United States lags a lot behind the world's most advanced countries. This is a dereliction of duty on the part of the government in developing network engineering.
At the end, Mr. Friedman declared that a terrible crisis was imminent and that there was no time to waste.
(iii)
Seriously, the elite consciousness in the bones of Americans is used to being the boss. Their movies are either saving Mars or saving the planet.
But people love to watch, although it is shocking, it makes people frightened, happy, crying, and forgetful.
That's probably how American culture is. As I sorted out Friedman's train of thought, I felt that he had imagined both China and India as dinosaurs.
Then, the person who can defeat the dinosaurs must be a greater and more remarkable hero. Of course, Friedman hopes that the protagonist of the film, which he calls the future, will still be The United States.
However, we know that we are not dinosaurs, China or India, as competitors or imaginary enemies, but just an excuse and a reason why the United States needs to be stronger and more upward. For this future dinner, the Americans are already waiting.
My question is: What assumptions and preparations have we made for the future?
Do we see clearly what kind of survival path we should take in the face of the trend of globalization?
Are we discussing the issue of whether education is free of charge and taking into account other target strategies?
Are we aware of the advantages that our test-taking education will give us in the future? inferior position?
What kind of talents do we need in the future?
Do we start with a one-hour exercise a day or group dance?
Shouldn't we also discuss: Where is our survival strategy for the 21st century?!
When the tide of the world is beginning to look at the world, we are still discussing whether to become a great power, or when to become a great power.
Do you think that if there are too many people and you can afford to eat in one day, it is the rise of a great power? dream!
People are already eating in their mouths, looking at someone else's pot. We also feel that our little days are good, and this kind of unenterprising idea is shameful to think about.
A government that does not attach importance to education is not visionary, and a society that does not adapt education to the future is hopeless.
A nation and individual who cannot establish their own competitive advantage in the future can only be enslaved and eliminated, which is the ecological law of nature.
In order for our descendants to have more opportunities to eat meat, people can now re-read "The World is Flat". From Chapter 6 to Chapter 8, we can certainly experience a lot of stress. This is a grand alarmism for Americans, and it is also an opportunity for us to start learning to think.