Equilibrium potential

How is this 'financial crisis' not simply the emergence of real globalization? The West, particularly the US, has over the last few centuries amassed and generated most of the world's capital and information, but constitute only a small portion of its total population. With the emergence of the internet over the last ten years however, capital and information has started flowing freely between countries. Will this wealth not naturally, inevitably redistribute toward an equilibrium that more accurately reflects the geographical distribution of the world's population? BRIC growth may have slowed during the 'crisis' but it has certainly not stopped. China continues to fund US national debt. I understand that it's a sensitive question but is the West, particularly the US, about to be severely humbled, or is there something in Western culture that entitles its members to a life-style that, were it enjoyed by every person in the world, would require five planets? The West, after all, produced the scientific revolution that underpins its ever-rising living standards. The West also embraces an openness that continues to attract and innovate.

James Martin 21st Century School

So Oxford and Cambridge have finally started making lectures accessible on iTunes U. I'd like to recommend the handful of talks available from the James Martin 21st Century School. Speakers include Joseph Stiglitz and Craig Venter and two speakers so scientifically progressive they manage to shock Richard Dawkins :)

The usual suspects

Press
Democracy back online in Pakistan. Fiedel Castro resigns. Clinton tries to shoot down Obama for borrowing part of a speech from a friend (please don't let this matter...). Feminists blame Clinton's falling behind on sexism. Swiss bank Julius Baer spawns a court order to close down wikileaks.org after hundreds of documents about its offshore activities were posted anonymously on the site (!!@£$%). Finally, Microsoft DreamSpark provides students with free development tools. Clever move.

Video
Joseph Stiglitz discusses globalization (FORA.tv, 1h36min). Slow at the start and an annoying eh-frequency, but the man was not awarded a nobel prize for nothing. Note: when asked about the recent upswing in the economy of Africa he replies: "What's making a difference for Africa is China. China is now giving more aid, for infrastructure for example, than the World Bank and the African Development Bank combined". To be compared with the 0.15% of GDP the US spends foreign aid (i.e. one fifth of the 0.7% target agreed on by advanced industrial countries). Also, Charles Anderson explains in serious depth what biofuels are and which ones are worth the hype (googletechtalks, 59min).

The world is flat

Thomas L. Friedman talking at MIT about his bestseller "The World is Flat" {search for 'The World is Flat' on iTunes}. A lucid and engaging account of what globalization is and implies. Identifies 10 factors globalizing the world. I'll plug the best mathematical description of globalization I know of yet again: Watts & Strogatz (1998) Collective dynamics of 'small-world' networks. Nature 393:p440-442 (pdf). Some of the best 3 pages you'll ever read (if you disagre, read them again). Through the internet, the world is taking on the properties of a small-world network.

Here's Charlie Rose interviewing Friedman about the book. One interesting anecdote: he says Bill Gates told him the best new software they're getting today is from China and that the way the Chinese do it is they went around the top universities in China with IQ tests and hired the top of the top of the top. What's the average IQ of the top 0.0000001% in a population of 1.3 billion? 195? 210? 225? 250? Say what you will of IQ but that's sharp.

In other news, Microsoft offers to buy Yahoo for $44.6 billion (article). Heavy.