He opens with,
“The three largest forces on the planet – technology, globalization, and climate change – are all accelerating at once,” and this acceleration feels “like driving a car that went from zero to sixty miles per hour in five seconds.”
Freidman says that as a result we no longer know how to be patient, to pause, to be late, or to reflect. We’ve “made waiting technologically obsolete.”
The bottom line is most people cannot absorb all the changes thrown at us and thus, we cannot keep pace anymore.
What is this cultural angst? How do we experience it? Friedman offers these examples.
- Gay marriage
- Government unable to adopt regulations fast enough to keep pace with medical technology and advances
We are experiencing a shorter time to adapt to change than past generations. We become disoriented, panicky or withdrawn. What we lose as humans in the process is fully taking advantage of the rapid innovations, as well as, building in “pause” time for deep thinking, reflection, and discernment.
I’ve only begun to read this book, so I know Friedman will enlighten me on how to respond to this acceleration. I invite you to watch this YouTube clip of Friedman talking about this acceleration to Google
I invite you to respond to your experience of acceleration.
- Have we made waiting technologically obsolete?
- Do you experience cultural angst?
- How are you responding to this acceleration?