The world has changed…that’s what so many people say when they feel like they’ve lost touch with things around them, be it computers, work or relationships. The world just isn’t the way it used to be. We can all relate to that. However, I think that the expression “the world has changed” is actually outdated in and of itself. A truer expression is “the world is changing”. In this day and age with the power of information at our fingertips the world is changing at a rate of 18 months. Basically the amount of knowledge doubles in that amount of time. That’s staggering. At this rate, how long till you yourself become a dinosaur?
Many people get tired of trying to keep up with the changes around them and choose to slow down. Slowing down is just another word for falling behind. It’s not part of my vocabulary. One of the craziest things I learnt recently is not only to focus on new ideas but ideas that were talked about 100 years ago. If they have worked for that length of time then there’s something to it. So in actuality we have to focus on both the past that got us to where we are and the latest developments so that we can stay in front of the competition.
The English language has been around since the 5th century AD but it has undergone drastic changes, much like any other language. We’ve refined it, altered it, played with it, and expanded upon it, to the point where it looks nothing like its present form. Take a Shakespearean play written in old English. The words look the same and I can read it aloud but I am at a loss to what most of it means. In high school I remember that pages on the left side of the book were written in Shakespearean English while the right side was written in modern English. To tell the truth we never even looked at the left side. Despite it being my native language I feel the perfect expression to describe the way I view old English would be “It’s all Greek to me.”
Change can’t be stopped, it’s moving at an even faster rate today than ever in history. We can choose to change with it or become relics of the past. Technology is here to stay, we need to embrace it with open arms and accept that the past has come and gone. We have to step up to the plate and take the bull by the horns. That means working hard to keep ahead of our competitors, improve our teaching methods and constantly improving ourselves.
The only question is will you be able to keep up?
Adrian
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