Fall of Berlin Wall=Computers & Technology

Is Friedman overwhelming me a little bit?-- Yes. But I do comprehend the idea that as a future teacher I should understand the points he brings up. In the beginning of The Ten Forces That Flattened the World, Friedman brings up points about the Berlin Wall falling that I read as a comparison to today's day and age.

One thing he states is how The Fall of the Berlin Wall actually made people liberate: "there was only one system left and everyone had to orient himself or herself to it one way or another" (49). Perhaps I got a little too created with some of the stuff he stated, but I took this statement and immediately thought of computers. No matter how hard one tries, one way or another technology/ computers are put in one's face everyday! I also took the part where he says how the falling of the wall liberated people, it seems as if computers have liberated a great part of the world as well. As teachers we are liberated from using conventional ways to teach (bore) our students! Branching off of the idea that in some way/ways people need to conform to technology, Friedman states that the transformation that the fall of the wall brought was unpleasant to much of the older generations. Just like today, many parents, granparents, etc. view technology as an "unwelcoming transformation" (49)- - All in all, that is unfortunately just too bad.

He also states how the fall of the Berlin Wall led to people thinking differently about the world: well hasn't the computer done the same thing? the computer is information sitting at our fingertips, which inevitably allows the world to be viewed differently and in a much broader sense. The computer/technology is an aspect of life that just takes a little getting used to.