The World Is Flat #3

Convergence, as Friedman describes it, is the coming together of certain elements, to together rapidly flatten the world. These elements work together to flatten the world and without them being converged, they could not work as they are and as they have and none of the other flattening processes would have had the same effect without it. Friedman also states that he believes that it is a Triple Convergence, and there are three specific things that make it up. These are:

First, the equipment and technology that has developed. Work flow hardware and software, things like one machine that can do multiple tasks. Also, the continuing improvement of mostly all technological hardware and software. And finally, that this technology is becoming more and more accessible to people and places all over the world, connecting and allowing people all over to collaborate and compete with one another.

Second, the adaption of people to the use of all the new and improved technology being offered them. This is extremely important because what good is specialized technology and new equipment if people can't take advantage of it and can not use it? With out innovative thinking, and with out people learning the skills needed, new technology would be fruitless. Also, the new ways people have developed to run their businesses. Such as the UPS taking advantage of the opportunities offered them, helping their business to thrive by using insourcing for companies large and small to help them, or Wal-Mart supply chaining their stores and keeping track of the items sold.

Third, people who before were not very involved in business with others from far distances because of their economies, all came onto the playing field because of new technology that enabled them to do so. Because of this billions of new collaborators and competitors arose from China, Eastern Europe, India, Russia, Central Asia, and Latin America. All these new people who joined the flattening world not only joined, but stretched it farther because more of the world was now opened up.

These three convergences all together have helped flattened the world more, and more quickly by coming together. The first convergance flattened the world by opening it up, allowing distance to no longer be a huge barier against the communication and colaboration of people. This became more useful and more flatening when the people started to adapt and use the technology to better their businesses, which was the second convergence. All this was expanded and made more of the rest of the world flat when the billions of people who had not collaborated before began to join in, which was the third convergence. All together they flatten the world greatly as the Triple Convergence.

The Once and Future King: The Sword and the Stone

The Sword and the Stone, the first book of T.H. White's The Once and Future King, tells of Arthur when he is a boy until the point when he is made king. Arthur lives with his foster father Sir Ector and his foster brother, Kay. While in the woods one day looking for Kay's hunting hawk, Arthur met the wizard Merlin, and brought him back to be his and Kay's tutor. Merlin, knowing that Arthur is destined to be king, teaches him lessons that will help him in the future. Many of these lessons consist of turning Arthur into animals for him to see their different ways of governance. Arthur also finds some little adventures when he meets King Pellinore, and when he and Kay meet Robin Wood (not Hood). In the end, Arthur while looking for a sword for Kay, finds a sword that had been stuck in an anvil. The person who could pull this sword from the stone was the rightful king of Brittan, not knowing this Arthur pulls the sword out to take it to Kay. When it is revealed what sword it is and how it was obtained, Arthur is made King.

I love this book. If I had a favorite book, this would likely be it. I really like the dialogue, and how, unlike Mallory, White delves deep into the characters personalities, reasoning, and feelings. The book is written very well and with a lot of feeling, as though White wants you to not be in the story, but in the people in the story. Mallory made events into a storyline, and did well with that, but T.H. White took events and looked at why people would do the things they did, what effects they would have, and what lessons they could teach. The story seems almost secondary.

My most favorite part in this first part of the book was when Merlin and Arthur first meet, and Merlin realizes that they have only known each other for an half hour. It breaks my heart when Merlin says "So little time to pas?" and the big tear rolls down his cheek. The whole idea of him living his life backwards is really tragic to me. When he meets people, it is his last time ever seeing them. When he met Arthur, he already knew things that would happen to him, and probably knew him better than anyone else. Arthur was his best friend, but the last time that he gets to see him, Arthur doesn't really know him at all. It is confusing, and just sad.

I love this book so much, I have already read it so I can very well make predictions, but I am so happy to read it again. It proposes so many things to think on, it is more than just a story.

The World Is Flat #2

Technology has been steadily progressing and slowly changing the way humans interact, until recently. Now, with all the computer and internet technology that has been being developed and improved technology has been reshaping human interactions at an incredibly rapid speed.

Huge numbers of people all over the world have computers at home and most all of them now have internet access. Just this one thing has changed so much on its own and helped lead to many more changes in interaction. With their internet access people can communicate so easily and fast. You can send a letter to your friend a couple towns away and it will get there in a couple days, or you send an email and it gets there in a second. Because of computers allowing you to digitalize information and the internet allowing you to send it around, people can connect with each other faster and easier.

Businesses have taken advantage of this to expand, or find cheaper or easier ways of doing things. Because of just how easy it is to be in touch with people at far distances, many businesses have taken advantage of the fact that you can hire people cheaper in other places than where your business is located. This is called outsourcing...you can hire some one in another state, or maybe some one from India to do the job for you cheaper, and maybe more efficiently too. Businesses no longer have to rely only on people in the towns close by or even the people in the country of the business. If you don't want to outsource, you could always offshore your business, move the whole thing to another country, maybe China, hire workers from there and still sell your products in America, and if you want to have a web site, you can sell to people all over the world. Businesses like Wal-Mart supply chain their stores. They place their stores all over the country and world, then set up distribution centers around that work 24/7 supplying all their stores. Technology enables them to track when their individual products run through the scanner as you buy them to know when, what, and how much to restock.

Computer and internet technology that enables people to upload has changed interaction dramatically. Any average person who has internet access can upload. And you can upload practically anything. As I sit here blogging I am uploading my thoughts about uploading. Thousands of people blog and upload onto the internet their thoughts, views, ideas and information. People upload news, information, photos, videos...and just like anyone who has internet access can upload, anyone with internet access can access the uploads. It is a fast, easy, and generally free way to share with most of the world, basically anything you want to, and anyone who wants to can see. Think of youtube...everything is uploaded. The internet is full of uploads...the internet is uploads.

With all the uploading, there is information about almost anything you could be looking for on the internet, and with more being added every day, someday maybe everything will be. So, when people are looking for information on a subject, where do they look? More often than not, the internet. It is very convenient, and with search engines, relatively easy. The internet is a number one resource. You can read newspaper articles on the internet, find a recipe, look for a job. You can research online, and if you see words you don't know, there are dictionaries on the internet. Why get up from your computer when it is all there?

Businesses can market to places and people across the globe now. Whether it is a huge business or a small one, with technology today, any of them can go across country or international. From the UPS synchronizing global supply chains for any size business, to having your business online, it is becoming very common and not too hard to expand and/or go global with your business. This means your business can market to people every where. It also means your business has competition from every where. If you sell internationally, you will have to compete that way too. But it doesn't just mean competition, it can also be help. Your co-worker might be from another country, or some parts that your business needs cheaper you might get from a business in another country or state.

Cell phones allow you to be mobile. People can talk to others from practically anywhere. And pretty soon (if there isn't already...I think there might be...) there will be international calling with your cell phone. You can take pictures with your phone, listen to music, and recently, be able to go all over the internet on your phone. You can pay bills on your phone, not by talking to someone, but by pressing some buttons. Pretty soon all your information will be on your cell phone, and you'll pay for everything with it too.

All this seems to me to be good in the obvious ways, convenience and such, but I am a little bit sceptical of if it will be mostly good. For one thing, if people all over the world can buy and sell and working like they aren't distant from each other, will they lose their unique cultures? And is that already happening?

Le Morte d'Arthur

The Le Morte d'Arthur excerpts begin by telling how, when Arthur was born son to Uther Pendragon, king of Brittan, he was, at Merlin's advising, sent to be taken care of by Sir Ector. Arthur was still a boy living as son to Sir Ector and brother to Ector's son Kay, when Uther died. After Uthers death an anvil with a sword stuck in it in the church of St. Peters bore the inscription, "Who so ever pulls out this sword from the stone and anvil is by right of birth king of all Brittan." Many men tried to pull the sword out but did not succeed. Eventually a tournament was to be held that would decide who was to be king. Sir Ector, Kay, and Arthur were all in attendance at the tournament, but Kay, having forgot his sword, begged Arthur to fetch it for him. Arthur could not obtain Kay's sword but was determined that he should have one, and seeing the sword in the stone pulled it out and brought it to Kay. Confusion followed and tests to the truth that Arthur really was the one who pulled the sword from the stone, but eventually Arthur was proclaimed king of Brittan.

The second part of the excerpts are about Arthur's greatest knight Sir Lancelot. Lancelot went on many questing adventures including saving many knights from Sir Tarquine who imprisoned and treated cruelly all the knights whom he had beaten. Sir Lancelot was imprisoned by four queens who cast a spell on him, but was saved by king Bagdemagus' daughter, and to repay her, fought and won a battle for her father. He helped many other women in distress, killed giants and always defended the laws of chivalry.

The last excerpt tells how while Arthur was out fighting Lancelot, Modred faked Arthur's death on the battle field and had himself made king, and tried to have Gwynevere made his wife. When Arthur heard of all this he came to fight Modred. Bloody battles followed. In the last battle between Arhtur and Modred, almost every man on both sides was slaughtered. Arthur did kill Modred, but he suffered a deadly wound and was brought to and buried in a hermitage in Glastonbury, where he was morned by Bedivere and the former Archbishop of Canterbury.

Thomas Malory seems to have a differant way of writing. he doesn't seem to find it impotant or nessisary to have discriptions. There is very very little discriptive work, it was very to the point. I feel like it is more about what happened then about the characters, they don't seem as developed. That could also be because it wasn't the whole book that was read. Even like that though, I still liked this reading. I love Arthurian legend and would like to read the rest of this book, all the middle parts that weren't in the packet. I just find Arthur and his story, and ideals, really interesting. My favorite part when I read anything about him though is always the end. "Here lies Arthur, the once and future king." It gives me shivers every time.

The World Is Flat responce #1

Friedman says "the world is flat". When he says this, what he means is that in the world of buisness the "playing field has been leveled", countries are on a more equal level regarding buisness. This is because of the ease in which people can communicate. It is no longer difficult for people in different countries to to have speedy communication. People can as easily do buisness with people on the other side of the world, as easily as with those in their own country, state, or even city. It is as though there is no longer distance, and the world is a much smaller place. People doing buisness are no longer competing only with those in a close or even medium sized proximity to them, but other buisness people everywhere. Also, the flatness of the world caused by easy communication makes it possible for people anywhere to take advantage of eachothers personal, cultural, or any other assets.