'The World is Flat,' for me at least, did not present a great deal of new information. Given that my major is a BIS with a focus on Computer Science, Information Systems and Technologies, and Asian Studies, a lot of the information presented in the book was information I already knew. However it did do something that I had only scratched the surface of: it connected the dots between the pieces of information and formed a much larger picture than I had previously conceived.
For example I knew that it was Islamic men of learning who developed algebra and algorithms during the 'Dark Ages' which was actually an age of enlightenment for Arabia. I knew that the religion is massive, spreading almost contiguously from Morocco to Indonesia with smaller communities all over the world. I knew that the religion was holding them back in the modern era through its misogyny, hubris, and repression in countries run by a petrocracy. What I didn't put together was that all these factors result in a constant sense of humiliation which in turn fuels groups like al-Qaeda. Young Islamic men in non-Islamic countries witness firsthand the success of 'infidel' peoples while they are left behind. This is just one of many 'ah-ha' moments I experienced while reading Friedman's book.
Overall I thought the book was excellent. In my experience classes where the 'textbook' isn't actually a textbook at all are the ones that I learn the most from. These classes tend to focus more on the understanding of concepts rather than the rote memorization of facts. Another class I have right now with Professor Eric Swedin is like this. In his class we're reading books by Kevin Mitnick and one titled 'Beyond Fear' by Bruce Schneier and I'm learning a great deal more about security from those books than I have from textbooks I've read on the same subject.
As for 'The World is Flat,' my only complaint is that it is getting to be a little bit dated. It is, after all, almost five years old, and in today's rapidly changing world five years is a long time. I wonder if the author has plans to release an updated version of the book. The current one is 'version 3.0' so perhaps a 3.5 or 4.0 is in the works...
I will graduate at the end of this semester and I think that this course was the only general education course I have taken which was at all pertinent to my major. Even though I hate writing essays, this class was pretty enjoyable because it related to my interests and career goals. One thing I did not enjoy was reading Bill Joy's article. It reminded me of what I believe to be the inevitable extinction of the human race in the near future. I'm not suggesting that this article should be removed from the course, far from it. In fact, I wish that the dangers of the Technology Singularity were widely known so perhaps we, as a race, could take appropriate steps to protect our future.
This just doesn't seem likely to me however since most Westerners are much more concerned with who's going to win the latest 'reality' show, or what overpriced dress some bimbo wears to some awards event, and most of Islam is more concerned with how humiliating the status quo is, and most people in Africa are more concerned with either finding something to eat or how best to kill each other. I believe that, ironically, humans will still be killing each other over our differences right up to the day when we are all killed because of our lack of unity.
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