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And there is a quote: "In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vi

And there is a quote: "In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." Sometimes I wonder whether one of the factors that makes US the mecca of technology is the lack of safety net there (compared to Europe).

triceratops 6y ago
> Sometimes I wonder whether one of the factors that makes US the mecca of technology is the lack of safety net there Not really. My bet is on the abundance of capital (hello global reserve currency) combined with excellent universities and a cultural willingness to take risks and do bold things. People who need a safety net, such as food stamps or housing assistance, are rarely the people who start big companies. They're usually too caught up in just trying to survive day-to-day.
- tonyedgecombe 6y ago
  And a huge homogenous home market.
  - triceratops 6y ago
    Yep agreed.
gherkinnn 6y ago
That's from Jeremy Clarkson, innit? Despite that quote being mostly wrong [0][1], a safety net might account for some idleness. But there's more. You might find a local variation of the Law of Jante [2], for example. 0 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_mercenaries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_mercenaries 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo_clock#First_modern_cuckoo_clocks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo_clock#First_modern_cuck... 2 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante
- HPsquared 6y ago
  It's said by Orson Welles' character in "The Third Man" (1949). Famous quote, allegedly ad-libbed: https://youtu.be/I8RW3K3hhWU https://youtu.be/I8RW3K3hhWU
durnygbur 6y ago
> they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." Hey, the Swiss evolved the cuckoo clock into a wristwatch... nope, even this innovation was by two Polish and Czech immigrants.
jandrewrogers 6y ago
The primary advantage of the US is cultural. It is not just the anomalously high risk tolerance and wealth, but people who attempt audacious goals tend to be celebrated. Americans shed the Tall Poppy Syndrome that is a very visible feature of virtually all other European cultures, perhaps because the US was predominantly settled by "tall poppies". After years of working in various parts of Europe, I think it distills down to this. Sufficient talent, desire, and capital exists in Europe -- it is missing no ingredients -- but society there pervasively and subtly undermines anyone who dreams of attempting something really bold. It is a shame.
- UMetaGOMS 6y ago
  To put it another way, European culture values humility over ego, and does not applaud those who manage to exploit those "lesser" than themselves quite so much.
  - povik 6y ago
    No, you are not putting it another way. Achievement is not “exploiting those lesser than themselves”.
mahkeiro 6y ago
It’s not like Switzerland has one of the highest number of nobel prize and patent per capita in the world... That’s really not a spot on cliché quote...
z_zetetic_z 6y ago
Cuckoo clocks originated in the Black Forest in Germany, north of the Swiss border. People associate them with Switzerland because of innovative marketing!

triceratops 6y ago

> Sometimes I wonder whether one of the factors that makes US the mecca of technology is the lack of safety net there Not really. My bet is on the abundance of capital (hello global reserve currency) combined with excellent universities and a cultural willingness to take risks and do bold things. People who need a safety net, such as food stamps or housing assistance, are rarely the people who start big companies. They're usually too caught up in just trying to survive day-to-day.

tonyedgecombe 6y ago
And a huge homogenous home market.
- triceratops 6y ago
  Yep agreed.

gherkinnn 6y ago

That's from Jeremy Clarkson, innit? Despite that quote being mostly wrong [0][1], a safety net might account for some idleness. But there's more. You might find a local variation of the Law of Jante [2], for example. 0 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_mercenaries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_mercenaries 1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo_clock#First_modern_cuckoo_clocks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo_clock#First_modern_cuck... 2 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Jante

HPsquared 6y ago
It's said by Orson Welles' character in "The Third Man" (1949). Famous quote, allegedly ad-libbed: https://youtu.be/I8RW3K3hhWU https://youtu.be/I8RW3K3hhWU

durnygbur 6y ago

> they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." Hey, the Swiss evolved the cuckoo clock into a wristwatch... nope, even this innovation was by two Polish and Czech immigrants.

jandrewrogers 6y ago

The primary advantage of the US is cultural. It is not just the anomalously high risk tolerance and wealth, but people who attempt audacious goals tend to be celebrated. Americans shed the Tall Poppy Syndrome that is a very visible feature of virtually all other European cultures, perhaps because the US was predominantly settled by "tall poppies". After years of working in various parts of Europe, I think it distills down to this. Sufficient talent, desire, and capital exists in Europe -- it is missing no ingredients -- but society there pervasively and subtly undermines anyone who dreams of attempting something really bold. It is a shame.

UMetaGOMS 6y ago
To put it another way, European culture values humility over ego, and does not applaud those who manage to exploit those "lesser" than themselves quite so much.
- povik 6y ago
  No, you are not putting it another way. Achievement is not “exploiting those lesser than themselves”.

mahkeiro 6y ago

It’s not like Switzerland has one of the highest number of nobel prize and patent per capita in the world... That’s really not a spot on cliché quote...

z_zetetic_z 6y ago

Cuckoo clocks originated in the Black Forest in Germany, north of the Swiss border. People associate them with Switzerland because of innovative marketing!