Name: Thank You for Being Late
Rating: 4 (39 reviews)
Author: Thomas L. Friedman

What’s in it for me? Discover why living in the Age of Acceleration might not be as bad as you think.

We live in quickly evolving times. Think back to 2007, the year the first iPhone came out: could you have predicted back then that the world would have become so reliant on mobile technology, apps and globalization?

Unlike generations before us, people alive today must constantly adapt and readapt to rapid changes in technology, society and the economy. The good news is that some people have found ways to harness this new reality to improve the human condition.

Technology-induced globalization means scientists from all over the world can share big, innovative ideas at breakneck speed, helping us tackle problems like the gradual dwindling of natural resources and climate change. Meanwhile, social media in forms such as Twitter allows individual citizens to discuss problems that they have in common with others, thus helping us come together as societies, nations and communities.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

how technology has contributed to – and accelerated – globalization;
why no one uses MySpace anymore; and
what Moore’s Law is, and why it’s important.

The age of acceleration began in 2007, launching an era of constant adaptation.

Do you remember what 2007 was like? You might not have realized it, but that year was a turning point in human history. In fact, a great disruption occurred in 2007, in which three accelerating forces – technology, markets and climate change – all ramped up.

By way of example, 2007 was the year the iPhone hit shelves, when Twitter reached a global scale and when Airbnb was created in a San Francisco apartment. Not only that, but from January 2007 to December 2014, mobile data traffic through AT&T’s national wireless network rose by over 100,000 percent!

A useful theory to explain this remarkable transformation is Moore’s Law, which holds that the processing power of microchips will double approximately every two years, a truly astounding rate of growth.

In 2007, the technological acceleration described by Moore’s law contributed to, and coincided with, accelerations in the market, evidenced by increased global commerce, rapidly growing social networks and an information tsunami. At the same time, mother nature was experiencing an acceleration in the form of climate change and population explosions.

So, what does that all mean for life on Earth?

Put simply, it means that this is a time of constant adaptation. If prior epochs of history were characterized by occasional destabilization, the modern world is one of near-constant destabilization; humans must constantly reevaluate their ecosystem, remaining agile in order to adapt to a rapidly changing world.

That doesn’t mean you can’t attain stability in today’s world. But rather than a static stability, you can expect a dynamic stability, like the one you experience while riding a bike. It’s not the kind of stability that lets you stand still, but it will keep you afloat if you stay in motion.

It sounds tough, and living in this state will require adaptation – but while it may not be natural, it’s the reality humans now face. In the blinks that follow, you’ll learn more about the specific forms of accelerations at hand and how you can keep pace in a world that’s moving faster than ever.

Technology is transforming at a rate never seen before.

The author can remember working as a journalist abroad in 1978, when he had to wait in line for a British telephone to send news stories back to his editors in the United States. But today, he could just as easily send an email from Britain, or even Africa, and it could be published nearly instantaneously on the New York Times website.

In fact, technology evolves so rapidly that, while conducting research for this book, the author had to interview each of the technologists he consulted at least twice just to stay up to speed.

Market globalization has fostered an increasingly interconnected world.

The globalized market isn’t just about manufacturing and trading goods; it’s also about exchanging information and making financial transactions online. Consider the flow of data through Facebook, the exchanges between renters and travelers on Airbnb and the incessant stream of opinions on Twitter.

Such global digital flows have made the world much more interdependent on all fronts: financially, culturally and politically. For instance, when the author spoke to Facebook in May 2017, Facebook Messenger was poised to add its one billionth user. In the same year, Twitter had 328 million active users every month. That’s more than the entire US population!

Climate change is accelerating, threatening to turn the world upside down.

You don’t have to be a meteorologist to know that the weather has been out of control in recent years; a scorching, record-high heat index of 163 degrees Fahrenheit (74 degrees Celsius) was recorded in a city in Iran in 2015, while traditionally frigid winter locales are experiencing milder and milder temperatures over the years. It’s a tangible reminder that climate change is here and it’s not going anywhere.

You’ve already seen how the power of men, machines and flows has disrupted the workplace, politics and the economy – but these forces are also reshaping the entire biosphere. For instance, Bloomberg.com reported that the concentration of atmospheric CO2 is 35 percent higher than at its peak over the past 800,000 years; sea levels have reached their highest point in 115,000 years; and the nitrogen cycle is experiencing a more dramatic upheaval now than at any point in the last 2.5 billion years.

The age of acceleration may bring up some issues, but it has also enabled individuals to work toward the common good.

In the end, accelerations are a mixed bag; some of them bear fruit while others can provoke disaster. Even so, there’s good reason to be optimistic.

Technology and globalization have made it possible for anyone with a basic education and access to the internet to help humanity make collaborative decisions, while also handling the challenges these same trends produce.

Key ideas in Thank You for Being Late