Double Majors Aren't So Odd Anymore (Book-Inspired Post 2)

I found that Thomas Friedman's description of the changes to Georgia Tech's computing college confirms that my aspirations to a double major are not pure stupidity. In the ever-shrinking world (I don't care much for Friedman's "flattening" terminology), people in developed countries will need to be on the cutting edge of innovation and new design. Friedman made some very good points in "The World Is Flat" about how computer scientists can't just deal solely with hardware and software anymore. In an increasingly competitive global market, it is those who are able to make unique connections across disciplines who will succeed.

I never read "The World Is Flat" before this class, nor did I consider globalization at length, yet I find myself naturally gravitating toward a mix of skills which that book highly recommends: computer science and humanities (in the form of German linguistics), with a minor in business. My language and linguistics skills have already been helpful as I develop second-language acquisition software. My experience gives me a different programming perspective than most programmers and a different linguistics perspective than most linguists, yet none of this was planned; I just went with what I knew I enjoyed.

America's jobs are changing rapidly and demanding a different type of education, but my experience shows that the rising American generation is educating itself in more and different ways than ever before. Many have "learned how to learn" and combine their varied interests to invent new products and services -- all without ever being told to. This gives me reason to believe in Friedman's optimistic appraisal of the United States' future in a smaller, more connected world.