Light Vs. Dark
by NashLaoshi on Feb.08, 2010, under Uncategorized
Lest we forget, this satellite photo of North and South Korea serves as a great reminder: Capitalism = Lightness, Communism = Darkness
Wargaming China Vs. America
by NashLaoshi on Feb.08, 2010, under Uncategorized
From the N.Y. Post’s article China’s Debt Bomb:
“Last March, the Pentagon held its first-ever economic-warfare war game, with China as the putative opponent and with economists and bankers (including from UBS) helping out.”
“Details of what unfolded are still classified. However, sources told Fox Business News that the scenario played out as planned. That was the good news.”
“The bad news is that China won.”
NASH: The world has entered another MAD (as in Mutually Assured Destruction) period. America is addicted to “easy” credit and China is addicted to “easy” exports. Were China to simply lose it’s entire dollar portfolio – some 2 trillion dollars – that wouldn’t be the worst of it. The worst would be the millions of poorly educated Chinese who would be locked out of their factories – losing their homes (dormitories) – as well as their income. The same results occur if China stops buying American debt.
In one sense, America has already lost, and the article talks about that, referring to Sun Tzu’s dictum about wars being won or lost before they’re actually fought. And I believe that’s right. America has already danced the dance and now must pay the piper.
China can (and eventually will) turn their factory workers productivity inward to build a more civil society. (Imagine a China with 100 Shenzhens!) Chinese will continue to live in a country with an increasing standard of living. But America is going to have to get used to the opposite, a lower standard of living, indeed a lower quality of life.
Go ahead and read the entire article. You need to know your adversary. (I wish that the Chinese/American relationship wasn’t defined thusly – I worked to prevent just that – but too few were interested in joining this cause. Sometimes it’s easier to be enemies than it is to be friends.) What a pity!
Twenty-Five Years
by NashLaoshi on Feb.08, 2010, under Uncategorized
Fareed Zakaria is one of my favorite authors. Last summer, Newsweek magazine published his article – The Capitalist Manifesto: Greed Is Good - from which the follow good news comes – and caution – comes. If understanding Capitalism is important to you – and yes, it IS important to you – then you should take the time to read the entire article.
“Over the past quarter century, the global economy has doubled every 10 years, going from $31 trillion in 1999 to $62 trillion in 2008. Recessions have become tamer than ever before, averaging eight months rather than two years. More than 400 million people across Asia have been lifted out of poverty. Between 2003 and 2007, average income worldwide grew at a faster rate (3.1 percent) than in any previous period in recorded human history. In 2006 and 2007—the peak years of the boom—124 countries around the world grew at 4 percent a year or more, about four times as many as 25 years earlier.”
“Most of what happened over the past decade across the world was legal. Bankers did what they were allowed to do under the law. Politicians did what they thought the system asked of them. Bureaucrats were not exchanging cash for favors. But very few people acted responsibly, honorably or nobly (the very word sounds odd today). This might sound like a small point, but it is not. No system—capitalism, socialism, whatever—can work without a sense of ethics and values at its core. No matter what reforms we put in place, without common sense, judgment and an ethical standard, they will prove inadequate. We will never know where the next bubble will form, what the next innovations will look like and where excesses will build up. But we can ask that people steer themselves and their institutions with a greater reliance on a moral compass.”
As usual, it’s all about MONEY
by NashLaoshi on Feb.08, 2010, under Uncategorized
American Unversities don’t really care about what you study or if you actually learn what you’re studying. All that really interests them is if you can pay for it. Don’t misunderstand me, there is absolutely nothing wrong with studying any of these subjects – if they interest you. What’s foolish is paying the HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of US Dollars to do so, especially when all of this information is freely available on the cloud that’s called the internet. That’s like paying to go use a bank teller to withdraw money when an ATM would accomplish the same thing, for free.
And some people laugh when I tell them that I’m going to build a university with just one major (LEADERSHIP).
Symphony of Science
by NashLaoshi on Feb.07, 2010, under Uncategorized
This music video – We Are All Connected – was made by using software commonly referred to as auto-tune. It contains clips Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, The History Channel’s Universe series, Richard Feynman’s 1983 interviews, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s cosmic sermon, and Bill Nye’s Eyes of Nye Series, plus added visuals from The Elegant Universe (NOVA), Stephen Hawking’s Universe, Cosmos, the Powers of 10, and more. It is a tribute to great western minds of science, intended to spread scientific knowledge and philosophy through the medium of music.
Watch similar videos here:SymphonyOfScience.com
Not So Fast
by NashLaoshi on Feb.07, 2010, under Uncategorized
[This post is for EVERYONE.]
I’ve long been a proponent of the idea that China is poised to lead the world. Back in 2003, I predicted that by 2020 (just 17 years) China would be number 1. I wasn’t just referring to economics, I was referring to leadership. Back then, my students laughed at me and said “Oh Nash, you really don’t know China.” My reply, “Oh students, you really don’t know America.” Today, everyone knows America a bit better.
Everyone knew China’s upward trajectory, but few realized that America’s trajectory was downward. I did. My students asked how I could be so sure. I answered, “If you plant apple seeds today, tomorrow [in the near future] you’re going to get apples.” And so, the intersection of these two trajectories will occur much sooner than my students could have imagined back then.
I still hold to my 2020 prediction. HOWEVER, that prediction was ALWAYS based on the next generation of Chinese – I’m talking about people like you, the students of SZZX – standing up and leading their country. [LEAD = SACRIFICE = LOVE] Unfortunately for China, far too many (most?) of my former students aren’t interested in sacrificing for a better China. They would rather flee the country and take care of themselves and their families first. That is their right, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. But thank God that Deng Xiaoping didn’t have that attitude, because if he did, then the students today wouldn’t have that option. They wouldn’t have ANY options.
I’m reminiscing about all of this because of a recent Boston Globe article subtitled: When will China lead the world? Don’t hold your breath The article’s overarching theme is the rise of Asia, but as a practical matter, it’s about China’s rise. Below are a few excerpts. Whether you agree or disagree, it’s important to have a variety of perspectives in order to see things clearly. So don’t hesitate to go and tackle the entire article.
“As Asia throws up barriers to immigration, in the United States immigration helps ensure long-term economic vitality. Chinese and Indian immigrants accounted for almost one-quarter of all companies in Silicon Valley, according to research by AnnaLee Saxenian at the University of California-Berkeley.”
“Most important, the United States is a champion of an idea that has global appeal, and Asia is not. During the opposition protests in Iran, demonstrators look to the United States, not China or Indonesia or even India, to make a statement. In a reversal of the Iranian regime’s rhetoric, some protestors even chant “Death to China” because of Beijing’s support for the repressive government in Tehran. As long as protestors in places like Iran, or Burma or Ukraine, call out for the American president, and not China’s leader or India’s prime minister, the United States will remain the preeminent power.”
“To be the global hegemon requires military, economic, and political might, but it also means offering a vision for the world.”
Obama and the Dragon
by NashLaoshi on Feb.05, 2010, under Uncategorized
The Economist has this picture as its cover this week. The article - Facing up to China – is worth reading.
Are you stuck in the wrong age?
by NashLaoshi on Feb.05, 2010, under Uncategorized
“Many communities and educators seem too comfortable with an Industrial Age model of mass production learning and an Agricultural Age calendar that bind educators and students in time, place, and purpose.”
From the book Embracing the Information Age (2001) Source: http://www.stemedcoalition.org/
The Greeks gave names to four of mankind’s ages: the Golden Age; the Silver Age; the Bronze Age; and the Iron Age. You’ve surely heard of the Space Age and most likely have also heard the term, the Stone Age (think The Flintstones.)
NASH: Or course, we’re now ensconced in the information age, and some of us are already departing for the next age. [Note: As we develop, like our world, time appears to be moving faster, and thus, the "ages" are evolving more quickly. The Ice Age lasted a long, long time; the Industrial Age, no so much.] I digress.
Back on topic, does any of this sound familiar to you? It should, because if you are someone who knows me personally, then I know that this is how you’ve been educated – industrially (the assembly line part, anyway.)
Remember, at the end of the day, YOU and YOU ALONE are responsible for your education. “Teachers open the door, but students enter of their own volition.” You can’t (actually you can, but you shouldn’t) just sit back and passively learn the things you’re told to learn WITHOUT thinking – without even ASKING if you should be learning these things.
TODAY’S QUESTIONS: What do you think that the next age will be? Which age are you currently in?
Culture Shift
by NashLaoshi on Feb.05, 2010, under Uncategorized
Our culture is shifting, and the impetus of that shift is technology. Alfin Toffler, in his 1970 seminal work, “Culture Shock” warned of tectonic sized shifts in our culture brought on by ever increasing technological advances. He predicted that man’s ability to handle some of these changes wouldn’t be able to keep pace. Till now, however, the future, hasn’t been all that shocking. But it has shifted in amazingly profound ways. And mankind has shifted right along with it. We shouldn’t be surprised.
This article – Your Brain on Technology – offers sagacious insights into the radical changes that technology is bringing to our culture. Some of these are commonly recognized, but most are rarely analyzed. Check out these snippets and if this topic interests you, take time to read the entire article (link above).
“You may love your simple phone, and that basic PC might be good enough for your mom to type letters and e-mail, but the idea of owning an appliance until it dies a natural life is antiquated. Given the perpetual upgrade cycles, software patches, network requirements and so on, gadgets are not built to last.”
“No longer do people call each other at home or at work, hoping to find them. Smart phone mean that calls, texts, and e-mails always find their targets. That means friends and family are never really separated. This is a constant conversation we are in, an ongoing dialog,” Ling said. “I know what’s going on with people I care about at a different level now. I know what’s in the refrigerator at my friend’s house.”
NASH: And the article does end on a high note:
“Meanwhile, Ling offers this reminder: Global connectivity creates millions of small success stories every day. Unlike television, which can be isolating, cell phone technology can help create feelings of true intimacy.”
Speaking of Plants
by NashLaoshi on Feb.05, 2010, under Uncategorized
As Mr. Pollan puts it, “If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.”
Mr. Michael Pollan is not a biochemist or a nutritionist but rather a professor of science journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. You may recognize his name as the author of two highly praised books on food and nutrition, “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto” and “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and his latest, “Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual.” (All three books are published by Penguin Books.)
Who Knew?
by NashLaoshi on Feb.05, 2010, under Uncategorized
I sure didn’t. (And yet, I’ve managed to live a wonderfully interesting and meaningful life – imagine that!)
Oops, “knew what?” Who knew that there were four states of matter: solid, liquid, gas and plasma. I knew the first three and I remember how I learned them, by understanding excrement. As in diarrhea, shit and farts. (Sorry, I don’t know the English word for excrement that is in plasma form. If you know, please write a comment. And please forgive the crude language, but the truth is, you need to know these words too.)
I came to learn about plasma from this article describing how, in the future, dentists may use a directed stream of plasma instead of a drill to treat cavities. It continues:
“Plasma is the fourth state of matter, after solids, liquids and gases. It is formed when gases are energized to the point where electrons fly off some or all of their atoms.”
American or Chinese Foolishness???
by NashLaoshi on Feb.04, 2010, under Uncategorized
What’s America doing with all those U.S. dollars that China keeps giving, er, loaning us? Here’s what:
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/35247110#35247211
That’s right, we’re tearing down perfectly good, but 34 year old stadiums and building newer, larger, more luxurious ones. And why not? When the time comes to repay China, all America has to do is to add a few zero’s to the printing presses, 6 to be exact. That way, instead of printing one dollar bills, we’ll be printing ONE MILLION DOLLAR bills. It’ll be easy to “honor” our debt this way. Suckers!
You could do this, seriously
by NashLaoshi on Feb.04, 2010, under Uncategorized
You could be remarkable. The only thing that is stopping you, is you! Let go of fear. So what if you fail? Don’t worry about failing, worry about not trying. That is the real failure.
We’re on the right track
by NashLaoshi on Feb.03, 2010, under Uncategorized
I’m talking about the world’s campaign to “Make Poverty History“. Here’s more proof that a picture is worth a thousand words:
“Between 1970 and 2006, the global poverty rate fell nearly 75 percent. During this period, the percentage of the world’s population living on less than a dollar a day fell from 26.8 to 5.4 percent. The world’s population grew 80 percent during the same period, which makes the poverty reduction all the more astounding. The global Gini coefficient, a standard measure of inequality, fell from 67.6 to 61.2 percent, indicating a drop in inequality as well as poverty. The same trend is found in other measures of inequality besides Gini.” You can read Ryan Streeter’s entire blog post here.
NASH: But as with every important thing you’ll ever try and achieve, the last mile is the hardest. Your generation has to finish the job. Don’t blow it.
Times of Great Change
by NashLaoshi on Feb.03, 2010, under Uncategorized
“Don’t be afraid to be amazing.” —Andy Offutt Irwin
“In times of great change, clinging to the status quo is often risker than jumping.” —Dean A. Nash
“If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.” —General Eric Shinseki, former U.S. Army Chief
If ever we were in “times of great change”, it’s now. Act accordingly. And while you’re acting, be amazing!
Fixed to Flexible
by NashLaoshi on Feb.02, 2010, under Uncategorized
[This post - and e-book - is for EVERYONE.]
For nearly all of us, this will be useful knowledge, so I’ve embedded this e-book, Fixed to Flexible. You don’t have to read it at one sitting, and you can always download it yourself (from here) and read it when you’re offline. However you choose to absorb it, just make sure that you do.
And yes, much of the book focuses on economics. Now, if you’re not the least bit interested in money, then you are dismissed from needing to read this book. But for the rest of us, understanding the principles here is vital to our futures.
I hope you’re paying attention to just how fast the world is changing. This book is FREE. What that means is this: going forward, a great majority of the world’s authors are going to have to make their living through other means. That is, publishing a book (or singing a song, or teaching a lesson or even flying an airplane) simply isn’t going to generate a livable income all by itself.
Fixed to Flexible – The Ebook
China V. Internet
by NashLaoshi on Feb.01, 2010, under Uncategorized
[This post is for EVERYONE.]
How many internet icons can you spot in this picture?
This picture is from a recent Wall St. Journal article coverning China’s battle against information it deems harmful. The picture is full of icons (or logos) of famous web companies. Everyone should at least be familiar with half of them. Here are the ones that I see. If you can’t find them, google the company and try again.
Yahoo!
Twitter
Google
Wikipedia
Baidu
Apple (ipad)
Setting Yourself Apart
by NashLaoshi on Feb.01, 2010, under Uncategorized
[This post is for: EVERYONE]
NASH: I’ve written before about you having a portfolio instead of a resume (CV). That portfolio should include some type of web “home”, and by home, I don’t mean Facebook, MySpace or Renren page – unless the image you’re going for includes: bland; normal; UNremarkable; one of millions instead of one out of millions, etc… Much better would be your blog and BEST would be your own domain – think Ru Zi Ke Jiao.com or Professornash.com.
Remember, each of us is a brand. So what you do, or don’t do, forms part of your brand message. When I spend my free time helping the disabled and teaching the poor, that becomes part of my brand, part of who I am. Of course, that’s not why I do it, which leads to another interesting point. You can do things in a cynical or insincere manner just to ‘enhance’ your brand. But I don’t recommend it. Instead, I recommend following your heart and let people either accept or reject you on the basis of who you actually are. In simpler terms, don’t wear masks.
The following all come from an MSNBC.com article entitled: Smart blogging can boost your career.
“No one has to have a blog,” said Allen Johnston, a social media professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Business. “It can be purposeful if it’s professional, well thought out and intelligent,” he said. “But it’s a different thing if you just ramble without a strategic plan. You’re opening yourself up to disaster.”
Maureen Crawford Hentz, the U.S. manager of talent acquisition for Sylvania in Danvers, Mass. says that “…professional blogs that focus on the industry, that are done well and show a passion are indeed a plus, she added. But that’s only if the blogger posts regularly, provides well-researched information, and the blog isn’t riddled with spelling or punctuation mistakes…”
J.T. O’Donnell, a workplace consultant and author of “CareerRealism: The Smart Approach to a Satisfying Career,” is a big advocate of blogging, even for those currently happy with their jobs. “None of us will have only one career in our lifetime,” she said. “To assume we don’t need a blog for a particular career we are in now is short-sighted and could hurt us in the long-run,” she added. “By sharing this in a blog, even a Twitter feed so you are simply micro-blogging, you are creating a brand that showcases who you are as a worker. You are letting employers inside your head — and that is vital,” she said.
Heather Huhman, president of Come Recommended, an online community for entry-level job seekers, is also a big cheerleader of blogs as a career booster — provided you have the time and motivation to make it worth your while. “Are they absolutely required? Of course not,” she said. “But I think they can be helpful these days and help you set yourself apart.”
Today’s question: What do you want your personal brand keywords to be? Mine are educator, leader and humanitarian. I recommend that you keep it to three or less, anymore than that and your brand message risks becoming muddled. Come on, play with me. Leave your answer in my comments section.
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