Hawaii is an interesting place.  I spent a couple of weeks there over the holidays this year.  Once again, I noticed how the place has achieved cultural diversity, without complete homogenization.  Of course, I’m generalizing and painting in broad brush strokes, but after spending a fair bit of time in both Japan and China, it’s interesting to see a completely different take on crossing cultural boundaries.  Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, Europeans, Mainlanders and other Pacific Islanders all generally get along and work together to keep the place going.  (No snotty comments about the state being in the third world, although I was surprised to be caught in an island-wide blackout).

In my humble opinion, it’s not so much of a “melting pot,” as many of the cultures maintain their traditions, but it’s more of a cooperation thing.  Of course, Hawaii’s situation is forced by being a popular island chain in the middle of the Pacific ocean.  The people there have to get along.  One can’t help but speculate, however, whether this is a model for how the world could evolve as distance becomes relatively meaningless and teams are regularly formed from resources distributed around the world.  It’s sure a happier model than the world imagined in Blade Runner.

Happy End to 2008!

Technorati Tags:  China, China Outsourcing