Why did Friedman believe the power of 'Triple Convergence' far exceeded the simple叠加 of ten 'flatteners'?

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The answer: Okay, this is a core question, key to understanding the essence of The World Is Flat. Let's discuss it in plain language.

"The Triple Convergence": A Chemical Reaction of Globalization, Not Just a Pile of Ingredients

Hey, that's a great question. Many readers of The World Is Flat have the same doubt.

Simply put, what Friedman wanted to say is that the ten "flatteners" are like giving you a bunch of incredibly powerful Lego bricks. Whereas "The Triple Convergence" is assembling those bricks into an aircraft carrier that can circle the globe, and teaching billions of people worldwide how to board it and how to sail it.

The power of these two things, naturally, doesn't hold a candle to each other. Let's break it down:

First, let's look at what the ten "flatteners" are.

Friedman's ten "flatteners" include things like "The fall of the Berlin Wall," "The rise of Netscape (internet proliferation)," "Workflow software," "Outsourcing," "Supply chains," and so on.

You can think of them as individual, powerful "tools" or "events."

The Internet allows you to instantly connect with someone on the other side of the planet.
Workflow software enables an engineer in Bangalore, India, to collaborate with you on completing a project.
Efficient supply chains allow Walmart to precisely manage the inventory of tens of thousands of global suppliers.

Each one is impressive. But if you only view them in isolation, it's like having flour, sugar, and eggs laid out on the table. These are top-quality raw ingredients, but they are still just a pile of raw ingredients.

Then, the crucial "Triple Convergence" arrives. It's like a magical catalyst that triggers a qualitative transformation in everything.

"The Triple Convergence" isn't a tool; it's a process, a phenomenon. It's formed by the convergence of three distinct phases that collectively detonated a new wave of globalization.

1. First Convergence: The New Platform Is Built.

This refers to around the year 2000, when the ten "flatteners" mentioned above were no longer scattered tools. They interconnected and fused together, ultimately forming a brand-new, flat platform for global competition.

An analogy: It's like flour, sugar, eggs, an oven, a mixer... all the tools and ingredients became available at the same time, creating a perfect modern kitchen. You not only had the internet, but also smoothly running software, plus logistics capable of rapid delivery. This "kitchen" made global collaboration possible, and at extremely low cost.

2. Second Convergence: People Learned How to Use the New Platform.

Having the platform alone isn't enough. People had to learn how to use it. Businesses and individuals began to actively or passively change their work styles and thinking patterns to adapt to this flat world.

An analogy: Just having a kitchen isn't useful; you need to know how to bake a cake. Businesses and individuals began changing work habits, learning how to outsource, offshore production, collaborate, and more within this "global kitchen." For example, a U.S. company designs a product during the day, sends the blueprints to a factory in China at night, while an Indian call center handles global customer inquiries. This represents a fundamental shift in behavior patterns.

3. Third Convergence: A Flood of New "Players" Enter the Game.

This is the most crucial and impactful point. Just as the platform was built and people were learning how to use it, suddenly billions of new "players" from China, India, the former Soviet Union, and other countries poured into the same arena, bringing their intelligence, talent, and enormous drive.

Before the walls fell and the internet proliferated, they were largely excluded. Now, they could directly compete and collaborate with their counterparts in developed nations on this flat platform.

An analogy: Just as the kitchen gets built and the recipes are figured out, suddenly billions of new "chefs" flood into this kitchen. They also want to bake cakes, they also want to sell cakes. This instantly ignited the supply of talent, creativity, and labor, while also bringing about unprecedentedly intense global competition.

So, you see...

Simply adding up the ten "flatteners" is like taking inventory of the ingredients and tools on your table. You know you have flour, eggs, an oven. That's a static observation.
Whereas "The Triple Convergence" describes a dynamic, explosive process:

A brand-new, highly efficient platform (Convergence 1) + New methods and habits (Convergence 2) + Billions of energetic participants (Convergence 3)

The convergence of these three forces is what truly explains the disruptive feeling of "the world flattening" that we all perceive. It's no longer 1+1=2, but rather, like a chemical reaction: platform × methods × players = a completely new global ecosystem.

This is why Friedman believes the power of "the Triple Convergence" far exceeds the mere sum of the ten "flatteners." It was a genuine global revolution, not just a few technological upgrades.