Thank You for Being Late

  * * *

  And, as always, a special thanks to my golf partners Joel Finkelstein, Tom O’Neil, George Stevens, Jr., Jerry Tarde, and the late Alan Kotz. (Miss you, pal.) Last but not least, the amazing documentary team from Years of Living Dangerously—John Bach, David Gelber, Sydney Trattner, and John Pappas—who took me to places I never dreamt of going (and got me home).

  This is my seventh book with Jonathan Galassi, the president and publisher of FSG, whose inspiration and support have been life-changing for me. There is nothing more that I can say. My literary agent, Esther Newberg, always in my corner, did her usual fine job handling all the details. Jonathan and Esther and I have been together now since 1988. I cannot imagine writing a book without them. My FSG editor on this project was Alex Star, who quietly but firmly brought his great touch and acute intelligence to making sure all the dots in this book both connected and shined brightly. His work improved the book with each iteration. My tireless longtime assistant, Gwenn Gorman, was always there to support this project in any way I needed—from research to scheduling. I am lucky to have had her working with me for so long. My loving sisters, Jane and Shelley, were kind enough to fact-check all the stories of our youth in St. Louis Park.

  But there is no one more deserving of thanks than my brilliant wife, Ann Friedman, who edited every page, made wonderful suggestions on organization and wording, and also made everything I did better. I worked on this book over three years and broke my shoulder in the middle of it all. So Ann put up with a lot, while trying to start her own museum, Planet Word. As Alexander Hamilton says in the musical Hamilton of his own spouse, she is “best of wives and best of women.” And, of course, my daughters, Orly and Natalie, are always rooting for their dad, and always an inspiration.

  With so many generous friends and family members from so many places for so many years, how could I not still be an optimist?

  Thomas L. Friedman

  Bethesda, Maryland (but really still from Minnesota)

  August 2016

  Index

  The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.

  “Abandon Stocks, Embrace Flows” (Hagel, et al.)

  Abdi, Barkhad

  Abdirahman, Sagal

  Abdirahman, Zamzam

  Abu Khalil

  Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI)

  Acheson, Dean

  Adams, Don

  adaptability: learned behavior and; of Mother Nature; political innovation and

  ADD (amplify, deter, degrade) geopolitical policy

  Adler typewriters

  adolescents, cyberspace and

  Aedes aegypti mosquito

  aerosol loading

  Afghanistan

  Afghanistan War

  Africa: agriculture in; climate change in; conflict and terrorism in; migration patterns of; population growth in; weak states in

  African Americans: discrimination against; in Minneapolis; in Minnesota; ownership taken by; in St. Louis Park

  Agadez, Niger

  age of accelerations; dislocation and; education and; human adaptability as challenged by; as inflection point; innovation as response to; leadership and; the Machine and; Moore’s law and; social technologies and

  agriculture: in Africa and Middle East; climate change and; monocultures vs. polycultures in

  Airbnb; trust and

  air-conditioning

  Aita, Samir

  algorithms; human oversight and; self-improving

  Alivio Capital

  Allen, Paul

  Allisam, Graham

  Almaniq, Mati

  Al Qaeda

  Al-Shabab

  AltaVista

  Amazon (company)

  Amazon rain forest

  Amazon Web Services

  American Civil Liberties Union

  American Dream

  American Interest

  American University of Iraq

  “America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Then and Now” (Kauffman Foundation)

  Amman, Jordan

  amplifying, as geopolitical policy

  Andersen, Jeanne

  Anderson, Chris

  Anderson, Ross

  Anderson, Wendell

  Andreessen, Marc

  Andrews, Garrett

  Android

  AngularJS

  Annan, Kofi

  Anthropocene epoch

  Anthropocene Review

  anti-Semitism

  APIs (application programming interfaces)

  Apple; see also Jobs, Steve

  Applebaum, Anne

  Apple Newton

  Apple Pay

  apps revolution

  Arab Awakening

  Arabic, author’s study of

  Arab-Muslim world, golden age of

  Arafat, Yasser

  architects, software for

  Armstrong, Neil

  artificial intelligence (AI); intelligent algorithms and; intelligent assistance and

  Artnet.com

  Ashe, Neil

  Ashraf, Quamrul

  Assad, Bashar al-

  Associated Press

  Astren, Fred

  AT&T; intelligent assistance and; iPhone gamble of; lifelong learning and; as software company

  Atkinson, Karen

  atmosphere: aerosol loading in; CO2 in; ozone layer of

  ATMs

  Auguste, Byron

  Austria

  Austro-Hungarian Empire

  Autodesk

  automation, see computers, computing

  autonomous systems; see also cars, self-driving

  Autor, David

  Avaaz.org

  Azmar Mountain

  Bajpai, Aloke

  Baker, James A., III

  balance of power

  Bandar Mahshahr, Iran

  bandwidth

  Bangladesh

  bankruptcy laws

  bank tellers

  Barbut, Monique

  baseball, class-mixing and

  BASIC

  Bass, Carl

  Batman, Turkey

  BBCNews.com

  Bee, Samantha

  Beinhocker, Eric

  Beirut: civil war in; 1982 Israeli-Palestinian war in

  Bell, Alexander Graham

  Bell Labs

  Bennis, Warren

  Benyus, Janine

  Berenberg, Morrie

  Berenberg, Tess

  Berkus, Nate

  Berlin, Isaiah

  Berlin Wall, fall of

  Bessen, James

  Betsiboka River

  “Better Outcomes Through Radical Inclusion” (Wells)

  Between Debt and the Devil (Turner)

  Beykpour, Kayvon

  Bible

  Bigbelly garbage cans

  big data; consumers and; financial services and; software innovation and; supernova and

  Big Shift

  Big World, Small Planet (Rockström)

  “Big Yellow Taxi” (song)

  Bingham, Marjorie

  bin Laden, Osama

  bin Yehia, Abdullah

  biodiversity: environmental niches and; resilience and

  biodiversity loss; climate change and

  biofuels

  biogeochemical flows

  biomass fuels

  biotechnology

  bioweapons

  birth control, opposition to

  Bitcoin

  black elephants

  Blase, Bill

  blockchain technology

  Bloomberg.com

  Blumenfeld, Isadore “Kid Cann”

  Bobby Z (Bobby Rivkin)

  Bodin, Wes

  Bohr, Mark

  Bojia, Ayele Z.

  Boko Haram

  Bombetoka Bay

&nb
sp; Bonde, Bob

  Bork, Les

  Boston Consulting Group

  Boston Globe

  Bourguiba, Habib

  Boys & Girls Clubs of America

  Brainerd, Mary

  “Brains & Machines” (blog)

  Braun, Gil

  Brazil

  breakers, super-empowered; degrading of; humiliation and; weak states and

  Brew

  “Brief History of Jews and African Americans in North Minneapolis, A” (Quednau)

  Brimeyer, Jim

  Brin, Sergey

  broadband

  Broadgate, Wendy

  Brock, David

  Brooks, David

  Brooks, Mel

  Brookview golf club

  Brown, John Seely

  Brynjolfsson, Erik

  Bucksbaum, Phil

  Buffett, Warren

  building information modeling

  buildings, energy efficient

  Burke, Edmund

  Burke, Tom

  Burnett, T Bone

  Burning Glass Technologies

  business: social responsibility and

  Business Bridge

  Business Insider

  Busteed, Brandon

  Bustle.com

  “Caddie Chatter” (Long and Seitz)

  Cairo

  calcium carbonate

  California, University of, at San Diego

  Cambodia

  campaign spending

  Campbell, James R.

  Canada, Geoffrey

  Canales, Carla Dirlikov

  Cañon City, Colo.

  Captain Phillips (film)

  carbon dioxide (CO2): atmospheric; in oceans

  carbon tax

  Carlile, Brandi

  Carlson, Arne

  Carp, Howard

  cars: electric; self-driving

  Carter, Ashton

  Carter, Bill

  Castile, Philando

  “Causes, Consequences and Ethics of Biodiversity” (Tilman)

  Cazeneuve, Bernard

  CBS.com

  Cedar Lake

  CEDIM

  cell phones, see mobile phones

  Center on Reinventing Public Education

  Central America

  Cevallos, Danny

  Chaaban, Wissal

  Chaifou, Adamou

  change, accelerated pace of, see age of accelerations

  Change.org

  “Changing Shape of World History, The” (McNeill)

  Charney, Craig

  Chattanooga, Tenn., high-speed Internet in

  Chattanoogan.com

  Chávez, Hugo

  Chesky, Brian

  chess

  Chicago Mercantile Exchange

  chickens, poverty and

  child marriage

  child mortality

  Children First

  Child Tax Credit

  China; as authoritarian state; “century of humiliation” in; debt of; Madagascar and; nationalism in; nuclear weapons of; 2015 economic slowdown in; U.S. relations with; workforce in

  China Daily

  “China Shock, The” (Autor)

  Chipman, John

  chlorofluorocarbons

  Chopra, Karan

  Chow, Alex Yong-Kang

  Citibank

  Citizens United decision

  Citrix

  CityLab.com

  civic idealism

  Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

  civil liberties

  civil rights, movements for

  Civil Rights Act (1964)

  Clapper, James

  clean energy

  Clear Channel Outdoor Inc.

  ClimateCentral.org

  climate change; acceleration of; in Africa; agriculture and; biodiversity loss and; black elephants in; developing countries and; in Earth history; extreme weather in; geopolitics and; Moore’s law and; population growth and; Republican denial of; 2016 Paris conference on; weak states and

  Clinton, Bill

  Clodd, Edward

  cloud computing, see supernova (cloud computing)

  CNET.com

  CNN.com

  CNNMoney.com

  Coast Guard Academy, U.S.

  Codecademy

  Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)

  Coen, Joel and Ethan

  Cold War; U.S. economic growth in; U.S.-Soviet competition for allies in

  Coleman, David

  collaboration, software innovation and

  College Advising Corps

  College Board

  college degrees, skill sets and

  colleges: continuous innovation in; traditional role of

  Collins, Thomas J.

  Columbia University

  Comey, James

  Common Core

  communism

  community: cultural identity and; health benefits of; importance of; innovation and; networks of; “the other” and; pluralism and; public spaces in; redefining of; as safety net; St. Louis Park as; trust and; value sets and

  complexity: as free; of Mother Nature; supernova and

  Computer History Museum

  computers, computing: cloud and see supernova (cloud computing); cognitive era of; components of; see also specific components; democratization and; disruption and; Moore’s law and, see Moore’s law; personal, as commodities; programming era of; tabulating era of; workforce and

  “Computing, Cognition and the Future of Knowing” (Kelly)

  concentration, learning and

  Conexant Systems

  Confederate flag

  connections, human-to-human

  connectivity, advances in; education and; the Market and; poverty and; supernova and; terrorists and; 2000 as breakthrough year in; 2007 as breakthrough year in; workplace and; see also global flows

  Conservative Party, British

  consumer electronics, advances in

  consumption; population growth and

  coral reefs

  Corbat, Michael L.

  Core

  corrective rape

  Coursera

  “Cramming More Components onto Integrated Circuits” (Moore)

  credentials

  CRISPR

  “Cultural Diversity, Geographical Isolation and the Origin of the Wealth of Nations” (Ashraf and Galor)

  cultural identity, inclusive ethos and

  culture: diversity in; ownership in

  Culture Matters in Russia—and Everywhere (Harrison, ed.)

  Curie, Marie

  Cutting, Doug

  cybercriminals

  cyberspace, see supernova (cloud computing)

  cyberwarfare

  Daily Telegraph

  dairy industry, computerization in

  Dakar

  Dalio, Ray

  Daly, Herman

  Dara, Dina

  Dara’a, Syria

  Darwin, Charles

  data, see big data

  data transmission, cost-speed ratio in

  DataWind

  Davison, Lang

  Debreu, Gérard

  decolonization

  Deep Blue

  Defense Department, U.S.

  deforestation

  de la Vega, Ralph

  Delgo, Lior

  Dell, Michael

  Deming, David

  democracy; computation and

  Democratic convention (1948)

  Democratic Party

  Deng Xiaoping

  desertification

  designers, supernova and

  deterrence

  Deutsch, Lisa

  developing world; climate change and; global flows and; industrialization in

  diabetes

  Diamond, Jared

  Diamond, Larry

  Digital Globalization (McKinsey Global Institute)

  dining room tables, discussion around

  Dirkou, Niger

  Disko Island

  dislocation
br />   disruption; computation and; political; workforce and

  diversity: in culture; economic growth and; immigration and; in politics

  DNA sequencing

  Dodd-Frank Act

  Doerr, John

  Donner, Jan Hein

  Donovan, John

  Don’t Tell Douglas (Meyer)

  DOS

  dot-com bubble, positive effects of

  DRAM (dynamic random access memory)

  droughts

  DTECH-ENGINEERING

  Dubai

  Dukakis, Michael

  Dunne, Jimmy

  Dust Bowl

  dynamic stability

  Earle, Sylvia

  Earned Income Tax Credit

  Earth: history of; see also Mother Nature, human impact on

  East Asia, economics of

  Eastern Europe

  eBay

  Ebola

  e-books

  Echo, The (St. Louis Park High newspaper)

  e-commerce

  economic disparity

  Economist

  economy, U.S.; Cold War growth in; postwar; progressivism and

  ecosystems; degradation of; resiliency of

  Edison, Thomas

  education: Common Core standards for; concentration and; mentors in; population growth and; self-motivation and; self-ownership in; skill sets and; socioeconomic disparity and; of women; workforce and

  education, innovation in; advances in connectivity and; in age of accelerations; global flows and; intelligent assistants and; online courses in; supernova and; tax deductions for; see also lifelong learning

  Edwards, Bruce

  edX

  Egypt; 2011 revolution in; U.S. military aid to

  Egyptian Army

  elections, U.S.: gerrymandering and; ranked-choice voting in

  Electronics

  El Salvador

  e-mail; messaging apps vs.

  “Emerald City of Giving Does Exist” (New York Times article)

  emerging markets

  Emerson, Ralph Waldo

  empathy; live video and

  Empire of Wealth, An (Gordon)

  encryption

  Energryn

  energy, technological change and

  energy efficiency

  Enestvedt, Harold

  Enova

  Environmental Protection Agency, U.S.

  Ericsson

  Eritrea

  ethics, innovation in; freedom and; leadership and; sustainable values and

  Ethiopia

  Ethiopians, in Minnesota

  Euphrates River

  Europe: illegal immigration into; wireless networks in

  European Union; Britain’s exit from

  evolution; human manipulation of

  Evolution and Human Behavior

  Exploratorium

  exponential change; see also Moore’s law