Jan 9

One thing that stood out during the presentation by the person from the Dharmastala was the importance of education. Education here in India is much more important in the family dynamic when compared to families in the US. Now, this is not to say that education isn’t important in the US. Many middle-class US parents sacrifice immensely to put their kids through college. However, education is just more important in Indian culture. I have heard, numerous times, that students are now staying in India to complete their undergraduate work. Then they travel abroad to complete their graduate-level coursework and find that the curriculum is easier. So, not only is education generally more important here, it is harder.

In 04, I had the opportunity to visit family members here in India. I was astonished by my little cousin’s knowledge about computers. She was in second grade, and her knowledge would easily rival the computer knowledge of most high-schoolers in America. India is investing in its population (which is eager to learn), and is beginning to churn out some of the most talented engineers, mathematicians, and medical specialists in the world. At the same time, the number of people attempting to receive math and science degrees in US institutions is dropping dramatically.

Some American workers complain that free-trade policies and globalization are hurting America. However, I will argue conversely. It is fortunate that there are other countries in the world which are training professionals in math and engineering fields. We in America have experienced a tremendous amount of technological advances in the past decades. In order to continue this pace of innovation, we will need these professionals in other countries to collaborate with us as they bring both tremendous knowledge and a varied perspective (and there aren’t enough engineers graduating from US institutions). America and Eastern Europe aren’t the only sources of information anymore. 6 billion heads are most certainly better than 3 billion heads.

This flatter world (and Friedman's third convergence) will result in exponential innovation, fueled by the influx of talented new workers from non-traditional knowledge source countries (such as India and China). This will not only benefit those countries, but also America.