Friedman on Daily Show
Reader comment on item: The education of Thomas Friedman

Submitted by Shane (United States), Apr 23, 2005 at 07:36

If anyone gets a chance, check out the Daily Show episode with Friedman in it. It was quite recent, I think.

On the Daily Show, he pushed his earth-flattening theory. He said, almost under his breath, that the Americans have become a little fatter, a little lazier, and a little stupider. He had me on that, but he lost me on his conclusion... He said that nothing bad will happen to the USA -- as long as we keep moving forward, we will always be further than the rest. Because as the rest of the countries move up to where we are, we will no longer be there -- we will have moved forward a bit.

Anyone who knows anything about Zeno's paradox of motion should recognize this fallacious/paradoxical thinking. It's the tortoise and the hare again, people. I was shocked that Jon Stewart didn't call him Zeno on national television.

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