TWIF+Chapter+8

The World is Flat Chapter 8 “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman Chap. 8 Summary · Chinese saying “Wealth doesn’t last past 3 generations.”Metaphor for America’s loss of power and influence in the world arena.America is losing its focus. Americans are getting lazy.
 * "dot-com boom left too many people with the impressions they could get rich without investing hard work (252)."
 * Americans want something NOW.
 * Sense of entitlement instead of earning

· Must constantly increase the ‘ante’- knowledge diffuses faster today, cannot remain stagnant · America is not collaborating, focus is on individual ambition, causes us not to hone our skills · Post WWII- no economic competition for 40 years; we coasted developing a sense of entitlement and a “culture of complacency”.


 * "For the first time in more than a century, the United States could well find itself falling behind other countries in the capacity for scientific discovery, innovation and economic development (255)."

· This chapter focuses on why we are not choosing to focus on attaining jobs in the ‘new middle’. · The phenomenon mentioned above is entitled ‘The Quiet Crisis’.This is the gradual slow erosion of the scientific and engineering foundation that this country was built. · Forces affecting the erosion: political, economic, cultural and social. · B/c the world is ‘flattening’, the benefits of the industrial and information age are available to more people; we need to shift our focus to talent. · Wealth and power will shift to the country that can balance industrialization, information and talent; the U.S. has gaps in all 3: Education, infrastructure, and ambition.These gaps are our “Dirty Little Secrets”. Leaders need to address Americans about the following: · Scientists and engineers are retiring and not being replaced · We are not graduating enough in these fields compared to other countries and these fields are growing rapidly Engineers are leaving b/c they now have labs etc. at home due to our flat world. · Since 2001 we have issued 20% less student visas because of national security and because foreign students are going to colleges //other// than those inthe US. Enrollements in England and Germany have risen · We are not educating or interesting enough people in math, sciences, or engineering. · 60% of top science and 65% of top math students are children of immigrants · Trends in Mathematic & Science Study: Completed every 4 yrs.Between 2000-2004 US students made only minimal progress.We slipped in international ratings · Another study showed that only 40% of 8th grade students were educated in math by a specialist; International average: 71% · List of reasons why young men and women are not applying to science: a-It’s not fun.Culture is geared towards having fun. b-Yale is not making Presidents who value science c-American culture is producing the most creative scientists and engineers but lost sight of the foundational skills d-Poor work ethic · Outsourcing is not only cheaper, it’s more efficient.Other countries are producing at a higher quality and productivity and for less money Work ethic in America- lacking ; problem solving, creativity, and passion for learning is lacking too · Parents expect less- concerned with inconsequential issues i.e. religion, extra-curricular activities. · Theory-“The countries that have fewer natural resources will be better off in a flat world.These countries must use human resources; creativity & hard work”. · Power delegated by the 14th amendment to the state which further delegated it to the local school boards.This resulted in a “patchwork system”. · School boards are organized around the pattern of their residents; results in educational inequality. · We need to educate our children in the fundamentals to a very high standard- National Curriculum”. Bill Gates reported that of the 3 Micorsoft Headquarters (England, America and China) the one in China has the most producitivity in terms of ideas and turnout (260) The Asian Culture is "dedicated and direction following culture." American education does not stimulate students enough to enter into math, science and engineering "Science and math are the universal language of technology (272)." · Need to commit to basic research funding · Federal funding in math and science has decreased by 37% since 1970 to 2004 · Need to increase by 10% a year over the next 7 years. · Need new research grants · Percentage of scientific papers produced by the U.S. has fallen 10% since 1992, and by 61% in physics.Asian countries are surging. · Bush Administration failed to promote broad band internet usage; we have no national policy for promoting broadband; everyone else does (Europe, Asia) · We have the slowest internet access in the developed world.Why is this important? · Broadband access is critical to advancing productivity and innovation in every sector of the economy. · More automation allows more time for innovation. **One needs to understand things well to invent other things- We need the fundamentals.** The lack of motivation regarding work ethic, math and science is a growing problem in the US. Students of all ages refuse to "think" about pattern recognition, number concepts and relationships and problem solving. Students, at the high school level, would rather recieve an "F" than put forth an effort to discuss mathematical relationships or tackle a problem that requires many steps and much thought. Students use technology such as a calculator to //do// the work as opposed to using it for assistance. I believe our decreas in knoweledge in the math and sciences is an affect of the poor attitude we have towards education. Students do not prioritize education and it is really becoming apparent.
 * Dirty Secret #1- The numbers gap **
 * Dirty Secret #2- Education Gap at the Top: **
 * Dirty Secret #3- Ambition Gap: **
 * Dirty Secret #4: Education Gap at the bottom: **
 * Dirty Secret #5: Funding Gap: **
 * Dirty Secret #6: Infrastructure Gap: **
 * Summary: **