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Possibly because the British ruling classes tend to have an humanities education [1]. Cf Boris quoting Sophocles, and Kermit the Frog, at the UN earlier this we
by osullivj 5y ago
Possibly because the British ruling classes tend to have an humanities education [1]. Cf Boris quoting Sophocles, and Kermit the Frog, at the UN earlier this week.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Two_Cultures https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Two_Cultures
- sammalloy 5y agoSo with the Chinese ruling class coming from predominantly engineering backgrounds (and yes, I've read the previous hn threads on this topic, which are fascinating), should we expect the future of innovation to come from China, or is there another aspect or component at work? My personal take is that Silicon Valley took off in the US because of its timing with WWII defense spending.
- osullivj 5y agoFrancis Spufford's Red Plenty is fascinating on engineering culture in closed societies. The recent Chernobyl drama series addresses the same point too. Technical problem solving and innovation work best in open societies where there's minimal political interference in the flow of information. The US overtook the UK as economic #1 in 1870, and is still #1. Despite 100 years of decline the UK is still top 10. IMHO domestic market size, effective autarky, an open society and drawing the smartest immigrants globally has kept the US at #1, and will continue to do so despite challenges in the 80s from the Japanese and more recently the Chinese.