The Silk Road
Essay Question: To what extend would you agree with this description of the Silk Road (Internet of Antiquity) and his (Yo-Yo Ma) comparison of it to the Internet of our world today?
A comparison of the Silk Road and the Modern Internet surprisingly reveals that these two systems share their own similarities and differences. From analyzing both systems, it came up that the modern internet could be a repeat of what happened in the Silk Road, although in a more advances and modernized way! Now, although these two systems share many similarities, they also have their own differences. The problem is, do the similarities outrun the differences or could it be the other way round? Could Yo-Yo Ma’s description be right, is the modern internet really the “Internet of Antiquity”?
In order to get the information I need, I will simply compare these two systems using three points:
Trade
Communication
Information
Silk Road
The Silk Road, or Silk Route, is a series of trade and cultural transmission routes that were central to cultural interaction through regions of the Asian continent connecting the West and East by linking traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from China to the Mediterranean Sea during various periods of time.
Basic Specifications:
Trade – Along the Silk Road, different people bought goods from each other using two different techniques, Barter whereby you exchange a particular item for another item and using money to purchase goods.
Communication- As people went to different places to buy goods, they met with other people who were not from their place of stay and were of different culture. Through this face to face communication they learnt the way of life for other people and brought back their knowledge home.
Information- Along the Silk Road, they were many people of different religions and cultures. As different people met, they got to know things about each
A comparison of the Silk Road and the Modern Internet surprisingly reveals that these two systems share their own similarities and differences. From analyzing both systems, it came up that the modern internet could be a repeat of what happened in the Silk Road, although in a more advances and modernized way! Now, although these two systems share many similarities, they also have their own differences. The problem is, do the similarities outrun the differences or could it be the other way round? Could Yo-Yo Ma’s description be right, is the modern internet really the “Internet of Antiquity”?
In order to get the information I need, I will simply compare these two systems using three points:
Trade
Communication
Information
Silk Road
The Silk Road, or Silk Route, is a series of trade and cultural transmission routes that were central to cultural interaction through regions of the Asian continent connecting the West and East by linking traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from China to the Mediterranean Sea during various periods of time.
Basic Specifications:
Trade – Along the Silk Road, different people bought goods from each other using two different techniques, Barter whereby you exchange a particular item for another item and using money to purchase goods.
Communication- As people went to different places to buy goods, they met with other people who were not from their place of stay and were of different culture. Through this face to face communication they learnt the way of life for other people and brought back their knowledge home.
Information- Along the Silk Road, they were many people of different religions and cultures. As different people met, they got to know things about each