This quote may not be clear without the context, so read the full story here.  But following my previous mention of its author I was pleased to see that he is still writing from India, and I am most interested in this snippet because it captures a general point beyond the specific innovation he describes in the full article.

That conversation is the sound of history changing.

And not just for India. We’re at the start of a nonlinear move in innovation thanks to the hyperconnecting of the world — through social media, mobile/wireless devices and cloud computing — which is putting cheap innovation devices into the hands of so many more people, enabling them to collaborate on invention in so many new ways.

The conversation mentioned there is one person describing to another (who has little experience with modern technology) how mobile computing can help families improve the quality of their children’s education.  Gadgets and connectivity are not for amusement, but enrichment through access to learning opportunities.

We see examples of this most days here.  When interns come to Kerala to work with us, our 130+ person organization treats them with special respect because of the quality of education those interns have had access to.  They see the opportunity to learn from the interns, just as the interns come to get practical experience.  Of course there are also very heartfelt relationships built on other common interests, but mostly I see a hunger to learn in India that is both refreshing and inspiring.  Friedman calls it right, again.