Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Thomas Friedman explains ‘Thank you for being late’

IMG_20190222_191556
IMG_20190222_191556
minus
plus

In a packed sitting at the 24th edition of Muscat International Book Fair the three-time Pulitzer award winner, Thomas Friedman, spoke about the importance of pausing while being in the age of acceleration.


He began by explaining about the first question he gets from people regarding the title of his latest book, ‘Thank you for being late.’


“Where come from this title, ‘Thank you for being late.’  The title comes from meeting people for breakfast in Washington DC where I live.  I often schedule breakfast and in most cases the guests are 10 to 15 minutes late.”


Fried also spoke about how the year 2007 saw developments that have caused the acceleration we see today – from Steve Job introducing the handheld technology, facebook opening up its platform, Twitter going independent, arrival of cloud computing, Google buying YouTube and introducing Android and introduction of Crypto coin.  “We missed it because of the recession.”


He prefers to call the cloud computing as the super nova in his book.  “It is nothing like a cloud,” he said.  He said the three giant accelerators are market, Mother Nature and Moore’s law.  “The changes effects people, but is also reshaping our world – poitics, geopolitics, ethics and community.”


He pointed out that the machines today have all the five senses.  The changes are also reshaping workplaces.  Technology is changing faster than a society can adapt to.  He noted that the digital divide is disappearing and self-motivation divide is what holds the divide today.


The Minister of Information, Dr Abdulmoneim al Hasani, presented him the Muscat International Book Fair Trophy.


Thomas Friedman signed copies of his book, Thank you for being late, at the Muscat International Book Fair being held at Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre.


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon