Do you know the one thing all great mega-powers of the past have in common? They no longer exist. Ceasing to strive to be the best and greatest at everything is

Do you know the one thing all great mega-powers of the past have in common? They no longer exist. Ceasing to strive to be the best and greatest at everything is not 'growing up', it's resting on your laurels. There's much more than just bragging rights to being 'first, bigger, best'. Technology is what dictates and drives society. If Germany or Japan (or Italy or ...) had developed nuclear weapons before the US, the world would be quite a different place today. If North Korea had not developed nuclear deterrence, Kim would now likely rest alongside Gadaffi and Hussein. And while it's now easy to say in hindsight 'Well, [insert new form of bigger, better, badder] is not particle physics.' This is true, but at time nobody knew where particle physics would take us. The idea of bomb the size of a small table that could destroy entire cities is something that would have seemed impossible before the US worked to to become 'bigger, better, badder' in what was at one time mostly theoretical particle research. The worst part of this all is that while we don't know the future, we do have a very good idea of where it's headed. Space is likely where the nest greatest achievements and breakthroughs will come from. But predicting how or where is going to be all but impossible, which is why working to be the king of all pursuits is critical. China is headed straight in this direction. They have not matched our technical skills yet, but at the time when we were conquering the world through technology and taking the baby steps into the computer age -- China was a backwoods nation where people were literally starving to death by the tens of millions. That they're now the second most powerful nation in the world, pushing forward technology and development at an unprecedented rate, is way more than enough reason to believe that one should not underestimate their resolve and ability.