Just finished lunch with Dr. Majid Saalan, who is a professor in Computer Science from the University of Baghdad. He got his masters in speech recognition from the University of Baghdad and Ph.D in biometrics from the Iraqi Commission for Computers and Infomatics. He has been teaching at the University since 2000.
After the war started, he moved his family to Amman, Jordan, and continued to teach in Baghdad, because, he said, “the students couldn’t do anything constructive other than go to school.” As a professor, he was held in the highest regard by the community, but as an independent thinker who would not join a militia, he found it increasingly difficult to stay alive. Continue reading
Shift Happens is a YouTube video highlighting the changes in the world, with a focus on the speed of the impact of globalization and digitization. Shift Happens has been viewed 4.5 million times on YouTube.
Watch Did You Know 2.0 (embedded here), is a refined version with some slightly different facts and emphasis. It’s only got 1.5 million YouTube views. The project was begun right here in Colorado, as part of a review of curriculum for 21st Century students.
There is a big gulf in America, and too few of us appreciate the speed and impact of these trends. The US graduates 1.3 million college students this year, while India graduates 3.1 million, all of whom speak English. China is poised to become the largest English-speaking nation in the world, and if we exported ALL of our jobs to China, they would still have an idle labor force.
If we think that the rules from 10 years ago, 5 years ago, even two years ago fully apply to our world today, then we are going to miss some critical changes that have a much more profound impact than the US election or Wall Street crash. But mainstream media still covers trivial, incremental changes in our culture. Who is telling you about the IT explosion in India? Who is documenting the carbon savings strategies in China? Not the Wall St. Journal or CNN.
Watch the video. Think about how the ‘exponential age’ is going to change your life, your business, your children. And then take two pills and call me on Monday.