Friedman: The World is Flat -- America's Future in Engineering
Uploaded by masone4718 on Dec 05, 2006
In nearly every science-fiction film ever produced, the pinnacle of excitement is always when a captain demands that the ship be “shifted into warp drive.” While the concept of “warp drive” may still not be developed in respect to today’s vehicles, the concept is now applicable to the current world’s lightening swift advances in technology, communications and globalization as a whole. This is the pillar upon which Thomas L Friedman bases The World is Flat, in which Friedman explains his contention of the apparent “flattening” of the world in several interesting facets. Friedman discusses ten forces that “flattened” the world, some of which being the current trends toward outsourcing and off-shoring.
Furthermore, Friedman examines the rapid economic and technological progress of eastern nations of the world, most notably India and China, while contrasting the increase in their abilities to compete in the global economy with America’s decreasing ability to do the same. Friedman attributes this current decline to our waning emphasis on science and engineering, as well as our academic system as a whole. This is not the end of America’s dominance, however; there are several methods by which we may revise and thus improve our educational system.
The world is flat: what was once solely available in America is now equally, and at times superiorly, available in other eastern nations. It used to be that students in eastern nations were pushed to succeed academically for the sole purpose of obtaining the opportunity to succeed in America. This is no longer the case; eastern nations now have the capability to literally breed and nurture students who ultimately become experts in the fields of science and engineering—better than their American counterparts. Friedman illustrates that this is a dramatic effect of our flattening world; the opportunities for such education are becoming rapidly available in several other parts of the world.
The most significant cause for this “flattening” that is apparent is the “dot com boom.” The creation of the Internet is the most prominent reason for the world becoming “flat.” Friedman explains that while Americans were busy marveling at their new invention and the fact that the entire world is now connected, other countries began to take advantage of this powerful tool and have been rapidly progressing with its aid for the past ten years. Not only have other countries...