Just a quick note - It was not specifically stated that these graduates from MIT or CalTech drive the whole economy. Of course we need everyone working 'competently'. For me, I cannot imagine the Manhattan project without Feynman's quirky brain, and his work on the space shuttle Challenger investigation might have been completed by someone else. It is not wrong to want to find and keep the superstars...
Nice word "Nexus" - much sexier than "hub". On Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 4:49 PM, Jason (Memphis) <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: > > I disagree. Graduates from MIT and CalTech don't drive our economy. > The thousands of graduates from the Boise States, University of > Memphises, Jones Universities etc. etc. are the little engines behind > our economy. National economies are not like the Olympics where a > superstar athlete (intellectual) performs well and the county wins the > competition while everyone sits around clapping. National economies > prosper when more and more citizens are working productively--and not > riding on the backs of a few elite superstars. > > The United States is still the leader in education (17 of the top 20 > universities in the world) and has the majority of the world top > scientists (40% of all Nobels Prize winners live here). The problem > is that information travels too fast in today's world. We used to > make scientific advancements and benefit economically from those > advancement while the rest of the world struggled for decades to catch > up. Now it takes seconds to transfer the knowledge and a couple of > years to apply it instead of decades to transfer and apply that > information around the global. What will push the United States ahead > is our ability to apply new technologies in new ways to solve business > problem because we have such a diverse set of citizens from all walks > of the planet. People will come to the United States to learn these > information and these skill transfer to their country. We will be a > cultural nexus for the world. That is the future role of the United > States as I see it and NOT an economic/political superpower bully. > > On Oct 24, 2:32 pm, "C B" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Okay, (ingenuity present in places and people) we all know statistics are > > only as good as the researcher that performs them so they can be > > mass-interpreted. I don't have the time to wade through all the tables of > > stats it would take to unravel this knot personally. My thoughts are the > > attending quality of students and faculty of institutions such as MIT and > > Caltech is relevant, as well as just who is working at CERN (eventhough > it > > is on hold last I heard due to malfunction). And who is leaving or > entering > > this country to study where. For some reason Feynman keeps popping into > my > > head concerning this and Einstein. No, they are not average and I hope > their > > like stands in the US somewhere today. > > > > NO one seems to know for sure what is going on in this country - too many > > variables and only time will give us the perspective to see the moves > > clearly. It is exciting! > > > > A friend pointed me to the pre-depression globalization that was delayed > due > > to world war II, and some indication of that pre- WW I as well. Could > > economic upheavals like we are in a be necessary part of closeknit > > globalization? Maybe it has to happen.... > > > > have fun with this subject. > > > > > > > > On Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 2:15 PM, Taylor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > <<I really hope you are underestimating the ingenuity of the US. >> > > > > > Countries don't have "ingenuity", people do, so when you talk about > > > the creativity of the people, you have to talk statistically. On > > > average, the number of American scientifically-trained students has > > > been declining for decades. Talking of Caltech or MIT is irrelevant; > > > those are specific instances that tell you nothing about the *average* > > > of what's going on in this country.- Hide quoted text - > > > > - Show quoted text - > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Memphis Freethought Alliance" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/memphisfreethoughtalliance?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
