"...increase understanding, foster tolerance, and ultimately promote worldwide peace."

When reading the Roots of Revolution, I came across many statements that I found intriguing.

"people will communicate more freely and learn more about the ideas and aspirations of human beings in other parts of the globe."
I especially connect with this statement in light of the recent historic election. With the increased connectivity, capacity, and achievement the Internet has to offer us these days, it is especially easy for people in the United States to see how people all over the other parts of the world are responding to our amazing display of brotherhood and understanding. Websites like YouTube and the 24-hour news cycles of CNN, MSNBC, ABC make it more convenient than ever for everyone across the globe to speak out or speak to each other and come together through technology and unite for a remarkable cause. I think "world peace" is a little strong, but I do think that as the Internet's capacity to bring people together continues to increase everyday, we can come a little closer to the understanding we all deserve.

"For conversations, people will come to use mobile telephones almost exclusively."
I just wanted to agree with this statement 100%. As a semi-permanent resident of Austin, I use my cellphone as my main means of communication with people back home and people here. I don't own a land line. And I don't know anyone of my friends that goes to UT that does. Even a married couple that I know, both of whom have lived in Austin for quite a while, doesn't own a land line, and they are living here permanently in a house, living out there adult lives. I know even back when we were kids, the idea of using mobile phones only never seemed like a possibility to our parents. My parents still think it's weird that I can function without a land line. To them, an earlier generation, it is ingrained in them that that's just the norm. But to us, the norm is to have a cellphone and that's it. And the occasional instant message on the computer of course.

And referring back to the reading last week about our inability to focus because of all the distractions online, I guess we should thank Marc Andreessen who developed the ability for us to navigate from page to page....leading us into an infinite abyss of information....