Shift Happens
April 16th, 2008
Submitted By: Adam Windham
Below is a YouTube video titled “Shift Happens” that I came across recently. It illustrates a lot of issues regarding globalization, technological advancement and the exponential times we live in. It’s hard to comment too much without giving away the video, so please watch it before you read my, or anyone else’s comments.
I can’t say whether or not these facts are statistically accurate or not, and my guess would be that they’re probably not. What I got out of this video was the message that times are changing. And while the numbers might not be 100% correct, the message is clear and it really makes you think about what kind of world will we be living in 10, 15 or 20 years from now. The thing that got to me the most was the line “we are educating our kids for jobs that don’t exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, to solve problems we don’t know are problems yet.”
We can see this effect of rapid globalization in business and how companies respond to new information and opportunities. The ones that are successful are able to adapt to change and deal with new and emerging business environments … China anyone?
I thought it was a really interesting video and welcome any comments.
Entry Filed under: Pre-Departure, China, India, Pre-Departure
5 Comments Add your own
1. Brandi Eng-Rohrbach | April 16th, 2008 at 8:37 am
I saw this a while ago and I think it leaves quite an impression. However, in the end it just demonstrates the same thing that Nic’s post did. This is that statistics only speak the truth you want them to. Statistics are themselves neutral like the Olympics but can be used to any political end desired.
2. China Law Blog | April 16th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I disagree with the quote that “we are educating our kids for jobs that don’t exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, to solve problems we don’t know are problems yet.” Some schools may be doing that, but the better schools teach its students to think and thinking will always be valuable.
3. Andrew Steen | April 17th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Good video, inspirational. We watched it in Whittaker’s class last summer, and both viewings had a motivational impact on me. That part about the New York Times having more information in a week than most people were exposed to in a lifetime in the 1800’s made me feel pretty special, and ungrateful at the same time, because I rarely read when I am not forced to. But I am going to start doing so. There are just too many above average people in the world for us to afford to slack off for one moment and individually remain contenders in the global job market, and our country as a world superpower on the whole.
4. Deanna Haskell | April 18th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
While I agree that the statistics in this video are probably skewed, I still think that is raises some good points. I found the comment about information that you learn in the first year of college being out of date by your third year particularly interesting because that was true for me. I also think that it is interesting to think about the fact that people got along just fine without the internet and cell phones. We have all grown to love the convienence that they provide but I think that it comes at a cost. This video made me wonder about the social and cultural costs that have come about as a result of globalization and technological developments. For example, globalization contributed to the rapid economic development taking place in China…how has their society and culture suffered as a result…
5. Matthew Sprecher | April 22nd, 2008 at 4:17 pm
First off, I would like to say that statistics can be skewed to say what ever you want them to say. As a person who has done thesis research, it seems that all statisticians bend their numbers a little to make it go their way.
With that out of the way, I found this to be a pretty good video. Obviously the dramatic music added a little feeling to the video, but the points they were making were well recieved. It is amazing to think that the jobs and opportunites that we have over here are so minimal in relation to China and India. The comparison to birth rates and jobs really made me think. Also, the stats about how many people have been in their jobs for “X” number of years was very influential for me. As for the statement, “we are educating our kids for jobs that don’t exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, to solve problems we don’t know are problems yet,” I completely disagree.
As a person who researches technologies and innovations as my form of education, I am a firm believer that the students of today are the ones that are producing the jobs of tomorrow. True, some people may be working towards jobs that arent wont be there in the near future, but it is the people that are looking INTO the future that will make the biggest difference.
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