Shift Happens

Shift Happens – Are You Ready?

This is a wake up call. The future does not unfold in a logical and predictable fashion. You have to be prepared for drastic changes that will upset your plans for the future. You have to do everything necessary, today, to secure your future. So that when Shift Happens, you will be able to take control of your life. We don’t have to accept shifts in our lives, we learn to deal with it.

When shift happens, it can be disruptive, resulting in the loss of jobs and opportunities. It could even result in a lower standard of living. The only way to mitigate the effects when shift happens is to increase and diversify your income. Many people have done this by seeking non-traditional ways of earning an income like starting your own business. In this website, you will find such opportunities. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going….

Background on Shift Happens

This thought-provoking presentation was created by Karl Fisch (from the faculty of Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado) and modified by Scott McLeod; titled “Did You Know? Shift Happens”. This first placed winner of the World’s Best Presentation Contest 2007 organized by SlideShare.net really puts things into perspective — and makes your head spin at the same time. It shows how economic globalization, demographics, and rapid technological changes are shifting the status quo of our world. It was basically created to elicit greater government funding for education and research in the USA as well as to get educators and students to think about what they really need to know to succeed in the 21st century. The scenario in version 1.0 is deliberately bleak, to generate public support for education and research funding in much the same way as Al Gore’s “The Inconvenient Truth” has done for global warming. This however, is not solely a US problem. It will affect every nation in the world.

In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.
– Eric Hoffer

“Did you know? also known as Shift Happens” begins this elegant exploration of the exponential rate at which our technology is expanding. The amazing statistics here will shock and concern you:

An American student will have as many as 14 jobs by the time he or she turns age 38.

It’s estimated that 40 exabytes (that’s 4.0 x 1019) of unique new information will be generated worldwide this year. That’s estimated to be more than in the previous 5,000 years.

By 2023, a $1,000 computer will exceed the computation capability of the Human Brain . . .

This reminds me of a story I would tell to people who assumes that tomorrow is a long string of yesterdays. It goes something like this…. “The factory of tomorrow will be run by a man and a dog. The man’s job is to feed the dog. The dog’s job is to make sure the man does not touch the machines.” If the above prediction about computers comes true, machines will certainly be able to do most of the lower and middle management jobs. It would also assume that machines will be consuming the products they make as humans won’t be able to afford them. For humans to survive, they would have to create breakaway countries or states that would outlaw such factories and products or face starvation and possibly extinction. Let’s hope corporations and governments will act responsibly and know where the real money and value comes from.

The amount of new technical information doubles every two years, which means students attending a technical school will learn information that will be outdated by their third year.

The number of words in the English language is 540,000 — that is FIVE times the number of words present during Shakespeare’s time.

The Top 10 Jobs that will be in demand in 2010 didn’t exist in 2004.

The number of text messages sent and received each day exceeds the population of the planet.

Shift Happens is a timely invitation to re-visit many of our assumptions. And with it, the suggestion of a final question: what role will each of us play in this dynamic “shift”?

In its presentation, Shift Happens makes a lot of assumptions, like governments being unable to mitigate adverse impacts to their economies, or factors like trade protectionism, energy crisis, wars, commodity shortages which can change the course of these predicted futures. Factors like the greying population, consumer awareness, climate change may also impact on technological developments. In addition, some countries are not destined to achieve global power and influence because they lack some of the critical characteristics of a superpower. At one time, Japanese products were predicted to dominate world markets. However, laws and international agreements have scaled back Japan’s global ambitions somewhat.

In summary, expect unexpected changes (shifts) and be prepared to make changes. Some changes will be good; some changes will be bad. When shift happens, sometimes shit happens.

Watch the Shift Happens (sometimes Shit happens) 1.0 and 2.0 slide presentation on YouTube:

Karl Fisch 2020 Vision – Predictions of Technological Change (you may have difficulty watching this 15 minute video in its entirety during US peak time Internet usage. If you have this problem, watch the Google Video during off peak hours. Shit Happens!):

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The Corporation (2004)

The Corporation (2004) | DVD Review

This highly engrossing documentary begs the question – “Can Corporations be Moral in their Pursuit of Profits?” Judging from the state of the environment, the general health of the people and the widening gap of the rich and the poor, we have reasonable cause to worry.

If this is the situation, who is to blame? Is it the Government for not enacting laws to reign in these increasingly aggressive and powerful Corporations? Is it the fault of the Corporations for not acting responsibly? Or is it the general population across the globe for not making responsible choices in the products and services they use?

The problem is a highly complex one and there is no easy solution in the immediate horizon either.

Joe Balkan, a law professor notes that today’s Corporations are “singularly self-interested and unable to feel genuine concern for others in any context.” (pg. 56). This documentary is inspired by the works of Joe Balkan’s book – “The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power” (2004).

Dr. Robert Hare, a consultant to the FBI on psychopaths, draws parallels between a psychopath and the modern Corporation. In the documentary, it is revealed that his findings corroborate the following behavior:

• Callous unconcern for the feelings of others
• Incapacity to maintain enduring relationships
• Reckless disregard for the safety of others
• Deceitfulness: Repeated lying to and deceiving of others for profit
• Incapacity to experience guilt
• Failure to conform to the social norms with respect to lawful behaviors.

To be frank, though the arguments put forth in this DVD documentary may not as forceful as many other recent documentaries (see below), it does nonetheless, reward those who are prepared to sit through a nearly 3 hour exposé on the history and activities of Corporations since the birth of America.

The film touches on a variety of issues, such as sweatshop labor, the world bank, free trade, environmental problems, health and safety problems, corporate media control, anti-trust and monopoly violations, child advertising and corporate propaganda, genetically modified (GM) foods, et cetera.

This documentary is crammed with dense theorizing, it requires concentration, but viewers are rewarded by a thorough and well-argued film which doesn’t feel the need to couch its message in comedy.

Watching this DVD, one cannot help but feel sorry for the anti-Globalization protesters as their frustrations and desperation turn to violence.

The following recent documentaries overlaps some of the topics covered in “The Corporation” documentary:

Al Gore’s “The Inconvenient Truth” (2006),

A Must-See for everyone who is concerned about the environment by Director Davis Guggenheim with Al Gore as the poster boy of global warming. An Inconvenient Truth makes the compelling case that global warming is real, man-made, and its effects will be cataclysmic if we don’t act now. Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way: often humorous, frequently emotional, and always fascinating. In the end, An Inconvenient Truth accomplishes what all great films should: it leaves the viewer shaken, involved and inspired.

The documentary won an Oscar Award this year and Al Gore got a Nobel Prize for bringing global warming message to the fore.

Morgan Spurlock’s “Supersize Me” (2003)

Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, rejected five times by the USC film school, won the best director award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival for “Supersize Me” – a irreverent look at obesity in America and one of its sources – fast food corporations.

Michael Moore’s “Roger & Me” (1989)

When General Motors Chairman, Roger B. Smith closes down a profitable auto factory in his home town, Michael Moore embarks on a journey to interview Roger hence the title “Roger & Me“. Michael Moore’s sharp wit and working class roots endears him to his audience and me as he goes on a quest to find out: “What is Corporate America’s responsibility to the country’s citizens?”. A question no one at GM wants to answer, certainly not Roger.

Eugene Jarecki’s Why We Fight (2006)

Why We Fight is the provocative documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Eugene Jarecki (The Trials of Henry Kissinger) and winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.
Why We Fight goes far beyond the headlines of various American military campaigns in the last half a century to the deeper questions of why America is seemingly so pre-occupied with war. What are the forces – political, economic, and ideological – that drive America to battle against an ever-changing enemy? This documentary challenges viewers to examine the mechanizations of the secretive and ever persuasive military-industrial complex and its influence on the US government decisions.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)

Based on the best-selling book of the same name by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, this is a multidimensional study of one of the biggest business scandals that rocked Corporate America. The Enron documentary takes a look at one of the greatest corporate disasters in history, in which top executives from the 7th largest company in the USA walked away with over one billion dollars, leaving scores of investors and 20,000 employees with nothing in 2001.

Jamie Johnson’s “Born Rich” (2002).

Jamie Johnson, 20-year-old heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical empire, made this documentary about the lives of the children of the wealthiest families in the world. You would expect these Born Rich children from the elite of our society to have something important to say or do. Or at least get a glimpse of their glamorous lives. Instead, what you get is an insight of the aimless lifestyle of kids Born Rich. Paris Hilton, where are you when we needed you?

If you liked these documentaries, you will certainly like this hard hitting Canadian documentary “The Corporation”. It is a must-see for any one who is concerned about the products they buy and the companies they invest in.

Here are some short streaming video trailers of ‘The Corporation” on YouTube:

Dangers of Genetically Modified (GM) Foods:

Please visit our new movie review blog: goingtomovies for the latest movie reviews and the most anticipated movies for 2008 and beyond.

© http://teamrich.wordpress.com – the corporation