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> Silicon Valley could not have happened elsewhere I’ve discussed this here before, I think, but SV could have happened in the UK, as they were well ahead of e

> Silicon Valley could not have happened elsewhere I’ve discussed this here before, I think, but SV could have happened in the UK, as they were well ahead of everyone else in some areas. The reason it didn’t, as I’ve been repeatedly told by people who live there, is because at that time they had an entrenched culture that was "anti-anorak", or against hacker culture. The funding wasn’t there because proto-hackers were looked down upon by the establishment as powerless nerds incapable of furthering societal progress. On the other hand, SV happened in the US because these so-called anoraks were given a chance that bore fruit with a large defense budget to further the post-WWII era of technological development.

detourdog 4y ago
I’m so crazy I think Silicon Valley is more a Wall Street phenomenon then a technical one and that Intel gets way too much credit for the microprocessor.
nonrandomstring 4y ago
You are correct in almost everything here, but missing something that's maybe relevant. > could have happened in the UK, as they were well ahead of everyone else in some areas.... large defense budget to further the post-WWII era of technological development. It kind of _did_ happen in the UK, but earlier, for the same reasons of defence funding, but during the WWII era. Characters like Turing and Cockrell (inventor of the hovercraft), Tommy Flowers (Colossus) were all "off center wheels" so to speak. They did their work in sheds using makeshift tools. They got a shot out of necessity. What happened in Britain between about 1935 and 1955 was an enormous technological push. > The reason it didn’t, as I’ve been repeatedly told by people who live there, is because at that time they had an entrenched culture that was "anti-anorak" We still have. Geek never really became cool here. That's an American thing. But the truth is, after the war we were flat broke. Very few smart people had the leisure time and capital to risk as in the US. And then successive governments mismanaged our fledgling computer industry like ICL and Ferranti. Today the dominant job prospects for a geek in Britain are working for Google, Apple, Microsodt, IBM... it's embarrasing, humiliating given our history, and the disgraceful legacy of successive bad governments. > SV happened in the US because these so-called anoraks were given a chance that bore fruit I think that's the nub of it. But we haven't really learned in the UK. Our class system and fear of "outsider" innovation is still entrenched.

detourdog 4y ago

I’m so crazy I think Silicon Valley is more a Wall Street phenomenon then a technical one and that Intel gets way too much credit for the microprocessor.

nonrandomstring 4y ago

You are correct in almost everything here, but missing something that's maybe relevant. > could have happened in the UK, as they were well ahead of everyone else in some areas.... large defense budget to further the post-WWII era of technological development. It kind of _did_ happen in the UK, but earlier, for the same reasons of defence funding, but during the WWII era. Characters like Turing and Cockrell (inventor of the hovercraft), Tommy Flowers (Colossus) were all "off center wheels" so to speak. They did their work in sheds using makeshift tools. They got a shot out of necessity. What happened in Britain between about 1935 and 1955 was an enormous technological push. > The reason it didn’t, as I’ve been repeatedly told by people who live there, is because at that time they had an entrenched culture that was "anti-anorak" We still have. Geek never really became cool here. That's an American thing. But the truth is, after the war we were flat broke. Very few smart people had the leisure time and capital to risk as in the US. And then successive governments mismanaged our fledgling computer industry like ICL and Ferranti. Today the dominant job prospects for a geek in Britain are working for Google, Apple, Microsodt, IBM... it's embarrasing, humiliating given our history, and the disgraceful legacy of successive bad governments. > SV happened in the US because these so-called anoraks were given a chance that bore fruit I think that's the nub of it. But we haven't really learned in the UK. Our class system and fear of "outsider" innovation is still entrenched.