The Global State of Science (2017)(arstechnica.com)
arstechnica.com
The Global State of Science (2017)
https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/01/the-global-state-of-science
9 comments
Small countries have two big advantages:
1. If government does something really bad (e.g., become am evil dictatorship), the majority of the population just moves 50 km and is suddenly in another country. Businesses move much earlier, so there is lots of tax competition.
2. Corrupt politicians still need to shop and go to the bakery. In small countries you can get easily "hated by the people", making your life miserable. That or the occasional stone in your house's window. Everybody knows where you live.
The above two are concrete countermeasures available to the general population against today's standard default "democracy against the will of the people."
Compare that to the administrative cities of Washington, Brussels (as EU capital), Brasilia, where no ordinary people live (at least they're physically separated) and where you'd need to move hundreds of kilometers in order to become resident of another country.
1. If government does something really bad (e.g., become am evil dictatorship), the majority of the population just moves 50 km and is suddenly in another country. Businesses move much earlier, so there is lots of tax competition.
2. Corrupt politicians still need to shop and go to the bakery. In small countries you can get easily "hated by the people", making your life miserable. That or the occasional stone in your house's window. Everybody knows where you live.
The above two are concrete countermeasures available to the general population against today's standard default "democracy against the will of the people."
Compare that to the administrative cities of Washington, Brussels (as EU capital), Brasilia, where no ordinary people live (at least they're physically separated) and where you'd need to move hundreds of kilometers in order to become resident of another country.
Perhaps we need more small countries. Or, more realistically, we should take advantage of existing federal systems.
Could the success of the Silicon Valley owe something to California being a quasi-country? Or even the Bay-Area being a quasi-city state? I can see arguments for and against -- these places benefited from being part of the US, but also from being a bit different.
Could the success of the Silicon Valley owe something to California being a quasi-country? Or even the Bay-Area being a quasi-city state? I can see arguments for and against -- these places benefited from being part of the US, but also from being a bit different.
> The US alone spends about $500 billion. China, which was at roughly $100 billion a decade ago, has now cleared $400 billion.
Taking into account the costs of doing science in the two countries, China's investment has probably surpassed the US based on purchasing power parity (PPP) adjustment.
A root cause of the Century of Humiliation was China's then technological inferiority to Western powers and Japan, resulting in losses despite its massive manpower advantage (e.g., ~200,000 vs ~20,000 troops in the First Opium War). It is unsurprising that they took to heart a painful and vivid lesson on the importance of technological and scientific development.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_of_humiliation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Opium_War
Taking into account the costs of doing science in the two countries, China's investment has probably surpassed the US based on purchasing power parity (PPP) adjustment.
A root cause of the Century of Humiliation was China's then technological inferiority to Western powers and Japan, resulting in losses despite its massive manpower advantage (e.g., ~200,000 vs ~20,000 troops in the First Opium War). It is unsurprising that they took to heart a painful and vivid lesson on the importance of technological and scientific development.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_of_humiliation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Opium_War
When the "Century of humiliation" and the Opium Wars are mentioned, reading about them also gives a unique chance to easily understand the real meaning of the still popular term "Free Trade," even then:
https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/opium-war-1839-1842
"The war ended on 17 August 1842, with the Treaty of Nanking enabling the British to 'carry on their mercantile transactions with whatever persons they please'. The treaty committed the Chinese to free trade, including the trade in opium."
The British practically fought the war to be free to be drug dealers to the whole country, asserting they have the right to "free trade." If you are studying economy or history, you already knew that, otherwise you probably haven't, unless you are Chinese: if I understand correctly, such details are, IMHO rightly, the necessary part of the Chinese curriculum.
Free trade is of course even now only used as a term for "others" to accept what "we" want to do. In other direction, "we" can simply care about the "national security":
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/12/trump-issues-order-prohibiti...
The Newspeak principles weren't invented by Orwell. One country's free trade is another country's national security.
https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/opium-war-1839-1842
"The war ended on 17 August 1842, with the Treaty of Nanking enabling the British to 'carry on their mercantile transactions with whatever persons they please'. The treaty committed the Chinese to free trade, including the trade in opium."
The British practically fought the war to be free to be drug dealers to the whole country, asserting they have the right to "free trade." If you are studying economy or history, you already knew that, otherwise you probably haven't, unless you are Chinese: if I understand correctly, such details are, IMHO rightly, the necessary part of the Chinese curriculum.
Free trade is of course even now only used as a term for "others" to accept what "we" want to do. In other direction, "we" can simply care about the "national security":
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/12/trump-issues-order-prohibiti...
The Newspeak principles weren't invented by Orwell. One country's free trade is another country's national security.
China is also setting itself up as the leader in biotechnology. All kinds of research related to genetic engineering is not possible or significantly harder in the west due to ethical concerns.
Interestingly enough, Qing China actually had purchased more advanced military equipment than Japan at the start of the Sino-Japanese War. On paper, at least, the Beiyang fleet at the Battle of the Yalu River was the superior force - unfortunately for them, so crippled by corruption and lack of training that those advantages were squandered.
Krupp and Armstrong made boat-loads of money selling top-of-the-line hardware to China during this whole self-strengthening movement.
Krupp and Armstrong made boat-loads of money selling top-of-the-line hardware to China during this whole self-strengthening movement.
This article is nicely written but some figures to summarise data would be nice !
> India and China combined now account for roughly half the world's undergraduate degrees in the sciences
I wish this amount of man power is converted into productive outcomes.
I wish this amount of man power is converted into productive outcomes.
I’d say Switzerland’s excellence in research is rather expected. With average pay significantly higher than other European countries and multilingual society, they are probably a magnet for top talent from other European nations. (If anyone has more info, please feel free to add.)
In Asia, Singapore has positioned itself as Switzerland’s equivalent. It has worked itself into a financial and knowledge-based industry hub. Its residents speak multiple major languages, including English and Mandarin, as well as others from Chinese and Indian cultures. The small island state (< 6 million population) is punching above its weight in innovation as reflected in recent rankings of its top two universities (both in top 3 or top 5 in Asia and top 20-30 overall globally; top 10 globally in engineering).
(Relatedly, Lee Kuan Yew, the late founder of modern Singapore, was an advisor to several Chinese leadership teams. Several Chinese metropolises probably took inspiration and ideas from Singapore.)
Some ideas and policies from Singapore and Switzerland can probably help ignite innovation hubs for other serious governing bodies.