Compton Lecture Notes

Introduction

• The Compton Lecture series established in 1957.
• Honors Carl Taylor Compton, MIT's 10th president.
• Compton's legacy: transformed MIT into a global university, balanced scientific research with engineering, and partnered with the federal government.
• Today's lecture by Tom Friedman, a renowned author and columnist.

Tom Friedman: Introduction

• Known for seeing around corners, noticing details others miss.
• Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, writes for The New York Times.
• Focus on global issues: war, trade, poverty, energy.
• Author of several bestsellers, including "Thank You for Being Late."
• Discusses the acceleration of digital globalization, climate change, and technology.

Lecture Focus

• How Tom Friedman writes a column.
• Methodology: "Think without a box."
• Importance of understanding "how the machine works" in politics, technology, etc.

Writing Methodology

1. Value Set: What ethical viewpoint guides writing? (e.g., capitalist, socialist).
2. Understanding the Machine: Key forces shaping the world (market, Mother Nature, Moore's Law).
3. Culture and People: Impact of machine on societies and vice versa.

Key Global Accelerations

• Mother Nature: Climate change, biodiversity loss, population growth.
• The Market: Shift to digital globalization; social networks as new infrastructure.
• Moore's Law: Exponential technological growth since 2007.
  • Impact: self-driving cars, cognitive computing.

2007: A Pivotal Year

• Introduction of the iPhone by Steve Jobs.
• Facebook and Twitter went global.
• Emergence of cloud computing and big data.
• Acceleration in sequencing the human genome.

Implications of Accelerations

• Power of Individuals: Increased individual influence (e.g., social media).
• Power of Machines: Increased capabilities such as AI.
• Power of Flows: Speed and scale of data and idea exchange.
• Power of Many: Collective human impact on nature (Anthropocene).

Impact on Society

• Workplace: Need for lifelong learning in careers.
  • Example: AT&T's new learning and skill adaptation approach.
• Education: Digital learning platforms like Khan Academy offer free education.
• Politics: Shift from partisan to tribal politics.
• Global Geopolitics: Rise of "world of order" vs. "world of disorder."

Ethics and Community

• Ethics: Importance of sustainable values like the Golden Rule.
• Community Building: Examining hometown St. Louis Park as a model.
• Applied Hope: Importance of building community coalitions.

Conclusion

• Brandi Carlile's "The Eye" as a metaphor for navigating change.
• Advocacy for creating dynamic, stable communities ("eye people") rather than isolation ("wall people").

Questions

• Discussion on America's position in the world.
• Concerns about U.S-China relations and the impact of politics on news consumption.
• The role of education in preparing for the future.