6 Apps on a Killing Spree

I thought that what Niall Ferguson was saying made a lot of sense. I really liked how he gave a little background information first before diving into his main concept. I liked his analogies of using Germany and Korea to explain that divergences occur not because of geography but because of the people, the idea, and the institutions. I enjoyed the fact that he made jokes and had a sense of humor, which made him even more interesting to watch rather than it being a boring lecture. These are the six killer apps that he discussed in his TED talk: competition, the scientific revolution, property rights, modern medicine, the consumer society, and work ethic. These are the six killer apps of prosperity that are the cause of the great divergence. The one that I agree with the most is competition because I think that competition is a huge aspect of getting farther in life. I think that competition really encourages others to work and try harder instead of settling. With competition, when someone thinks of a really great idea it will push someone else to think of something better and with that, there is progress in the world. One super interesting thing that he said was that the Western hemisphere was basically falling apart, it was losing it's head start to a lot of Eastern countries. Ferguson said that the apps are open to download anywhere and once they're downloaded, that country shoots up ahead faster than the Western hemisphere when it started the race. I think that's really unique and interesting to think about because the Eastern hemisphere is catching up and even passing the Westerners not only in academics but also in economic prosperity and technological advancements.
I think that it's mainly because of work ethic. I feel as if that the Western hemisphere has reached a point where it is so comfortable how it is that it doesn't feel like it has to make improvements while other countries are working their butts off trying to improve and obtain a better lifestyle. America needs to watch its back.

Even besides his lecture, I loved the way that Niall Ferguson presented himself. My favorite quote is, "You can play a game and try to think of one I've missed at, or try and boil it down to just four, but you'll lose." I really liked his confidence and persona on stage and I learned a lot just by watching him talk and give his lecture.