by A few years back, my criticism of Tom Friedman’s book, The World is Flat and harsher criticism of educators who sought direction from it, Reading Fads: Why Tom Friedman Does Not Compute, made quite a splash in the blogosphere.
I tried, with humor, to express the sloppy logic, shoddy journalism, factual errors and terrible educational advice contained between the covers of Friedman’s book, but I have been outdone.
Rolling Stone political reporter Matt Taibbi has published two stunning, profanity-laced, witty and thoughtful disections of Mr. Friedman’s work in the following articles from the NY Press.
Flat ‘N All That (about Friedman’s latest book, Hot, Flat and Crowded)
and
Flathead: The Peculiar Genius of Thomas L. Friedman (2005 review of The World is Flat and other writing by Tom Friedman)
Both articles are worthy of your time and consideration, especially if you are an educator who totes and touts Thomas Friedman.
Warning: The commentary is adult in tone and language.
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(Gotta catch a flight. I’ll edit later)
Veteran educator Gary Stager, Ph.D. is the author of Twenty Things to Do with a Computer – Forward 50, co-author of Invent To Learn — Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom, publisher at Constructing Modern Knowledge Press, and the founder of the Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute. He led professional development in the world’s first 1:1 laptop schools thirty years ago and designed one of the oldest online graduate school programs. Gary is also the curator of The Seymour Papert archives at DailyPapert.com. Learn more about Gary here.
Gary – Thanks for the links. Always know I can rely on you to puncture the hypeospere that surrounds books like this. And the world – not so simplistically flat and the mind not so whole-new either.- Josie
Thank you for sharing these links to critics of Friedman. I read “The World is Flat” and I am in the middle of “Hot, Flat, and Crowed” and I had yet to read opposing views to Friedman’s. After reading “Flat ‘N All That” I will have to research Friedman’s arguments more carefully.
Vanity Fair recently published an article entitled, Tom Friedman’s Five Worst Predictions.
Thanks for the review!
Ahaan… I will follow.