9/28/09 The World is Flat

Friedman again reveals an amazing conflict that occurs with the use of technology. Believing that people now want specific information too fast and too easy, he believes that little is being done to obtain this information. I agree as more and more people are using search engines such as Google and yahoo, very few people are attempting to obtain information on new topics instead of just searching them up. As Yahoo's co founder Jerry Yang stated in the book "Today their attitudes are more presumptive. They presume that the information they're looking for us certainly available..." (180). However, I am curious as to why Friedman does not pick a side on whether this is good or bad. He clearly likes that people now can easily have huge amounts of information in a short amount of time and that this is a good "force that flattens" the world. Still, he never can decide to himself whether or not all of this new technology will keep benefiting us. He leaves it up to the reader. Friedman chooses to write an unbiased book which is great because a person can read it and then decide for themselves about the issues.

9/20/09 The World id Flat

The way Friedman has compared the economic situations in both America an Japan was amazingly detailed and perfect as was his clear description of the economic theory "what goes around, comes around" (29). His meeting with a CEO of a Japanese company and the conversation about outsourcing jobs to India and China really took me by surprise. I had not suspected that Japanese companies would outsource so many jobs to China but it turns out that thousands of their jobs are. However I cannot help but wonder if this is why Friedman is convinced that the world is flat (economically). Friedman's constant small jokes and puns help put a great spin on the book. When told about how Japan outsources their jobs to China, Friedman claims that he could only respond with "'Say what?'" (32). Still, he does add some insignificant observations that have nothing to do with the story or the point (at least not yet). I have read 70 pages of the book so far and I am definitely going to continue reading it. I also look forward to learning about other businesses around the world that follow the same economic objectives.

New Book 9/13/09

I picked out my new independent reading book The World is Flat bu Thomas Friedman. Friedman spends the first few pages describing his trip to India and how he believed it to be similar to Columbus's voyage to the New World. I feel that his first few pages brilliantly describe how although their trips were similar, Columbus was looking for a trading route for gems, spices, and silk while Friedman was looking for brainpower and knowledgeable workers providing the change of the definition of riches over time. Finally at the end of his trip, he claims that he found out that the world was indeed flat when looked at by a logical perspective. So far, the book is great in how it cleverly describes the general cultural diffusion that occurs. Instead of just pointing out how jobs in America are outsourced to India, Friedman takes one step further in seeing how many Indians are being assimilated into American culture. Friedman recounts that "Some had actually taken American names..." (5). I have no complaints about this book so far.

Timequake

Timequake was a great story about the whole world being brought back 10 years. It is supposed to be the year 2001, but the Timequake occurs which throws everything and everyone back into 1991 where they have to repeat every single action they have undertaken for the past 10 years. Kurt Vonnegut uses determinism in this book. It is cleverly shown through out the story as the main character Kilgore Trout completes actions that can be clearly predicted ahead of time. Also, Vonnegut's main idea is the essence of no free will. Everyone is forced to repeat their actions and develops a complete apathy for everything going on around them and Kilgore Trout is apparently not affected and continues living his life. He is able to revive others but Vonnegut cleverly adds his hidden comedy into the book. Still, the serious ideas of determinism and no free will are retained through out the story which makes it a marvelous read.

The Red Badge of Courage

The Red Badge of Courage looked like it could be a great book from the beginning. I have always been interested in military history and when I saw the title it appeared to be a book about warfare. After the first few pages it was clear that it was not just a book about warfare, but it was a story about a young Union soldier who is confused about his place in the army. Discontent about even having to be in the army, Henry Fleming decides he is going to desert his unit. This was a horrible choice in my opinion because he decided that he was not an important part of the army. This led him to believe that desertion was okay which is a pretty ridiculous idea for if every soldier believed that, then they would all desert. At this point, I simply despise Henry because he chooses to save himself instead of fighting like he was trained to do. As the story progresses, Henry finds a group of injured soldiers and simply tries to pretend he was injured. But he soon hears about his battalion's victory. Then, he returns to his battalion which is a clear symbol of him being a hypocrite. He decides that he feels guilty and only decides to return to is battalion because they have won a battle. In the final battle, Henry fights bravely and shows himself to be one of the best soldiers in his battalion. This book is very similar to Crime and Punishment in that they both involve characters that have epiphanies. The main character in Crime and Punishment turns himself in in the end just as Henry decides to redeem himself in battle.