Counterintuitive Facts (90): Why Has Globalization Made All of Us Less Safe?

I. In this network age, everyone champions Connection. You should meet more people. Systems should be more networked. Companies should go global. Supply chains should span countries. According to Metcalfe's Law: network value is proportional to the square of number of nodes. V ∝ N² A 10 person network is worth 100. A 100 person network is worth 10,000. More connections, more value. This is the internet age's bible.

II. But connection has a fatal side effect: Contagion. Connection doesn't just transmit value. Connection also transmits disaster.

III. In isolated ancient times. One village had a plague. Village died out. But plague couldn't spread. Because there were no roads. Another village survived. Isolation was automatic firewall.

IV. In today's highly connected world.