More blog serendipity. I’d seen this slideshow quite some time ago, but never got around to posting about it; it was one of those things that I thought everyone must have seen, and I try very hard to stay as a “thinker” blog rather than a “linker” blog. Then, yesterday, I was talking to Malc, who had found the slideshow while visiting some other site I had linked to. Later yesterday, when I was talking to someone else at work, the topic came up again, and I began to realise that perhaps not everyone had seen it. So here it is.
It’s only six minutes long. Well worth it. Karl Fisch, the author, originally called it Globalisation and the Information Age, I believe. Which is a good description of what it’s about. I suspect the name changed to Shift Happens after modifications by Scott McLeod. My thanks to both of them.
It’s now available via my Vodpod on the sidebar, or at this link.
A $1000 laptop will exceed the capabilities of the human brain?
Really?
What are capabilities of the human brain?
DE, I agree with you, that was an inane thing to put into the presentation. But it should not detract from some of the other messages.
For the record, despite Singularities and how Near they may be, I believe that the human body was, is and will continue to be THE machine.
Good call. I saw an article in the Guardian last week that said that the world’s largest supercomputer had been able to replicate a small proportion of a mouse’s brain…..for 12 seconds! As you say though, some of the other messages, such as investment in education and what our current generation needs to get their heads around are not to be missed. I took one of my son’s out a couple of weeks ago when he was back from university. As we barely got onto the bus, known locally as the “Mumbai Express” at nearly 8pm that was packed with highly qualified young Indians that work locally and were just going back to their digs after another long day, I turned to him and told him not to forget this. It was a lesson for him in what globalisation means and what he has to do to become competitive in this world. Sadly, I think that our education system does not get it; their responsibility is great as is ours as parents. We need to communicate what this all means. Our young generation is largely ignorant of what is going on and what it means for them, giving them the potential to take rational action. On the other side of the equation, I am currently reading an excellent book, “The writings on the wall” by Will Hutton with his exposition on China. There are different, but nonetheless great challenges for the emerging nations too. Nothing is absolutely certain at the moment for them either. It is same the same for India too. Their challenges are very different from China, but there are substantial things to do to ensure success here too. Worries, risks, challenges but overall opportunities……..welcome to the world today!
The next video after Karl’s was called ‘Funny Dog Attacking Itself’. Is history sending us a message?
This is a video that one of my students referred to in class and I did post it on the class blog that we talked about today.
Signs of shifts that must be recognized by all.. Otherwise, people assume that changes happen in the periphery and reject the broader implications of the shifts underway.
Hey JP, your notion of a ‘thinking vs linking’ blog is well elaborated in a kottke.org entry
Writers and editors- experiential vs. referential bloggers
Have a look: http://kottke.org/06/04/writers-and-editors