Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
behavior scales to the world now—and the world scales
English answer:
my behaviour directly affects the wider world and vice-versa
Added to glossary by
Lisa Jane
Jan 28, 2019 18:22
5 yrs ago
English term
21 books translated
Native in: Russian 
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English, Spanish to Russian, and 1 more.
behavior scales to the world now—and the world scales
English
Other
Government / Politics
Hello everyone,
From the book Thank You for Being Late by Thomas Friedman.
We as a species have never been to this intersection before. That we are becoming more godlike in our powers is indisputable. Today, “if you can imagine it, it will happen,” argues Eric Leuthardt, the neuroscientist. “It is just a matter of how much it will cost. If you can imagine mass chaos or a mass solution to poverty or malaria, you can make it happen more [easily] than ever before.” The scalability of individual behavior is both a problem and a solution today. “Individual behavior can now have global consequences. ***My behavior scales to the world now—and the world scales to me.***”
I understand "scalability of individual behavior" to imply that power (possibilities, what one can do) of an individual has become very big - one person (or a small group) can affect the whole world by their actions.
But I'm not sure that I understand what "My behavior scales to the world now—and the world scales to me" mean. The use of "scale" seems odd to me.
Thank you.
From the book Thank You for Being Late by Thomas Friedman.
We as a species have never been to this intersection before. That we are becoming more godlike in our powers is indisputable. Today, “if you can imagine it, it will happen,” argues Eric Leuthardt, the neuroscientist. “It is just a matter of how much it will cost. If you can imagine mass chaos or a mass solution to poverty or malaria, you can make it happen more [easily] than ever before.” The scalability of individual behavior is both a problem and a solution today. “Individual behavior can now have global consequences. ***My behavior scales to the world now—and the world scales to me.***”
I understand "scalability of individual behavior" to imply that power (possibilities, what one can do) of an individual has become very big - one person (or a small group) can affect the whole world by their actions.
But I'm not sure that I understand what "My behavior scales to the world now—and the world scales to me" mean. The use of "scale" seems odd to me.
Thank you.
Change log
Jan 30, 2019 20:58: Lisa Jane Created KOG entry
Responses
+1
1 hr
Selected
my behaviour directly affects the wider world and vice-versa
I think it means that through globalization, tecnological growth and the power of the media what I do on a small scale can soon have consequences worldwide and these effects may, in turn, change the way the world is for me in the future.
This works both for positive advancements or innovation and negative/unecological behaviour
This works both for positive advancements or innovation and negative/unecological behaviour
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Björn Vrooman
: Yes, scalability is not a one-way street: https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/scale to "...scales to me" = got the world "in the palm of my hand" (scaling down, not up). See Twitterati's use of social media to affect business decisions.
18 hrs
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Yes exactly!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Many thanks to everyone.
Thank you, Lisa."
19 mins
Vinícius da Silva
Brazil
Brazil
Brazil
Law/Bachelor and English Translator
Native in: Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian)
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, Portuguese, and 1 more.
both grow
My behavior scales at the same proportion as the world, things that happen in the world can affect individuals, and individuals can affect the whole world too.
Discussion
My behavior scales to the world = I am prepared to take on the world (or whatever issue it is you're dealing with) because I now have the means to amplify what I'm saying. As said, think Twitter and the no. of followers you have.
Or Instagram. You can be an influencer, so the world scales to you. But at the same time, you scale to the world because of the global reach of your profile or posts. This is how I understand it; maybe that's too limited, but it can be observed all over the place.
Not sure whether you followed the Covington High School drama unfold. One claim was amplified to the point these kids got death threats. One kid's face was plastered all over the internet (scales to the world). He got on national TV and, together with more video material, changed the narrative of the day (world scales to me).
Something like that. It's two sides of the same coin, IMO.
Best
And if "the world scales to me" = "got the world "in the palm of my hand", how would you rephrase "My behavior scales to the world now"?