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Except that Britain decided a few years back that Cambridge is not in Europe, it is in Britain. And I'm not sure that building houses is what created sili vall

Except that Britain decided a few years back that Cambridge is not in Europe, it is in Britain. And I'm not sure that building houses is what created sili valley.

jowdones 3y ago
I would suggest picking some valley and coating it with polysiloxane (silicone).
malermeister 3y ago
To be fair, Britain is still in Europe, just not in the EU. Now, those self-imposed sanctions mean that this probably won't go anywhere, but that's another story.
- atoav 3y ago
  The GDR was also in Germany and in Europe, yet the iron curtain had its name for a reason. Politic borders are sometimes more significant than geographic ones and if you want to become "the silicon valley of Europe" attracting talent is key. And everything the past years of UK politics has shown doesn't instill any kind of confidence — and people like me would've been the kind they would like to attract.
  - malermeister 3y ago
    Yeah I don't disagree with you on any of that. I'm a tech worker in Europe that has lived in London in the past. I wouldn't live there again now that Brexit has happened and I don't think this is going to succeed because I suspect many feel the same.
    - atoav 3y ago
      I think the biggest damage Brexit has done is that it revealed how unreliable UK is both on the world stage and from the perspective of the insividual. I certainly wouldn't trust them with the future of my life by moving there by this point. I don't claim that particular flavour of simple-minded populism wouldn't fly elsewhere (sadly: it does), but the way in which the whole thing was carried out in the UK was... quite unique. I had the feeling that the majority of politicians who implemented it privately knew this was a stupid idea and pushed through ("deliverrred") anyways with a very british bone-headedness. As if they accidentally queued for a face-slapping, when in fact they intended to queue for a free hug: After realising their mistake they were more afraid of the looks they would receive if they stepped out of the queue than with the consequences of getting slapped. Only this made them look even more ridiculous.
  - aleph_minus_one 3y ago
    > Politic borders are sometimes more significant than geographic ones Switzerland and Norway are also not in the EU.
    - Timon3 3y ago
      But they are part of Schengen, which for the purpose of attracting talent is at least a partial replacement.
      - aleph_minus_one 3y ago
        Being part of the Schengen area mostly means that (in many cases) you don't have to show your passport or identity card when crossing borders between Schengen area countries. It is not clear to me what difference this makes for attracting talents.
        dgellow 3y ago
        Schengen countries do not need long stay or work visas. That’s huge to attract talents. See https://visaguide.world/europe/switzerland-visa/long-stay/ https://visaguide.world/europe/switzerland-visa/long-stay/
        blibble 3y ago
        freedom of movement of workers is completely distinct from Schengen e.g. as an EU citizen you can work in Ireland without a visa, which is not part of Schengen
        dgellow 3y ago
        It’s not completely distinct, it’s a superset of Schengen called EFTA. Ireland is part of EFTA but not Schengen. The EU is messy.
        blibble 3y ago
sneed_chucker 3y ago
I guess Switzerland is not in Europe either then?
- dgellow 3y ago
  I think the person you answered to meant Schengen by saying “Europe”. Switzerland is in Schengen.
- retrocryptid 3y ago
  Next you're going to tell me that Austin is in Texas. Austin is absolutely not in Texas. It is surrounded by Texas in almost the same way West Berlin was "in" East Germany. Maybe more interestingly... Turkey is (and has been for a while) a member of NATO. The last time I was there they were still using the Lira, though it was easy enough to exchange Euros. But there's talk about Turkey joining (I think) the EU as part of the deal for Ukraine to eventually join NATO. So if Turkey joined the EU, would it suddenly be in Europe? My understanding was that Asia started at the Bosphorus, so the majority of Turkey is in Asia Minor. Not to mention Cyprus is supposed to join the Schengen area at some point. Heck. I don't even know if Cyprus is considered part of "Europe." I think my point was even geography sometimes avoids simple categorization. And the Britons all seem to be anti-European. So it seems odd Cambridge wants to build the "European Sili Valley" in a country where the majority of those who voted, voted to reject their European association.
eynsham 3y ago
If Britain ever decided that Cambridge was in Britain (presumably a constituent of a decision that Cambridge should be in Britain, not Europe), it would have done so by one of the Acts of Union.
musicale 3y ago
If they really want a Silicon Vally style housing market, building more houses may not be the right approach.

Except that Britain decided a few years back that Cambridge is not in Europe, it is in Britain. And I'm not sure that building houses is what created sili valley.

jowdones 3y ago

I would suggest picking some valley and coating it with polysiloxane (silicone).

malermeister 3y ago

To be fair, Britain is still in Europe, just not in the EU. Now, those self-imposed sanctions mean that this probably won't go anywhere, but that's another story.

atoav 3y ago
The GDR was also in Germany and in Europe, yet the iron curtain had its name for a reason. Politic borders are sometimes more significant than geographic ones and if you want to become "the silicon valley of Europe" attracting talent is key. And everything the past years of UK politics has shown doesn't instill any kind of confidence — and people like me would've been the kind they would like to attract.
- malermeister 3y ago
  Yeah I don't disagree with you on any of that. I'm a tech worker in Europe that has lived in London in the past. I wouldn't live there again now that Brexit has happened and I don't think this is going to succeed because I suspect many feel the same.
  - atoav 3y ago
    I think the biggest damage Brexit has done is that it revealed how unreliable UK is both on the world stage and from the perspective of the insividual. I certainly wouldn't trust them with the future of my life by moving there by this point. I don't claim that particular flavour of simple-minded populism wouldn't fly elsewhere (sadly: it does), but the way in which the whole thing was carried out in the UK was... quite unique. I had the feeling that the majority of politicians who implemented it privately knew this was a stupid idea and pushed through ("deliverrred") anyways with a very british bone-headedness. As if they accidentally queued for a face-slapping, when in fact they intended to queue for a free hug: After realising their mistake they were more afraid of the looks they would receive if they stepped out of the queue than with the consequences of getting slapped. Only this made them look even more ridiculous.
- aleph_minus_one 3y ago
  > Politic borders are sometimes more significant than geographic ones Switzerland and Norway are also not in the EU.
  - Timon3 3y ago
    But they are part of Schengen, which for the purpose of attracting talent is at least a partial replacement.
    - aleph_minus_one 3y ago
      Being part of the Schengen area mostly means that (in many cases) you don't have to show your passport or identity card when crossing borders between Schengen area countries. It is not clear to me what difference this makes for attracting talents.
      - dgellow 3y ago
        Schengen countries do not need long stay or work visas. That’s huge to attract talents. See https://visaguide.world/europe/switzerland-visa/long-stay/ https://visaguide.world/europe/switzerland-visa/long-stay/
        blibble 3y ago
        freedom of movement of workers is completely distinct from Schengen e.g. as an EU citizen you can work in Ireland without a visa, which is not part of Schengen
        dgellow 3y ago
        It’s not completely distinct, it’s a superset of Schengen called EFTA. Ireland is part of EFTA but not Schengen. The EU is messy.
        blibble 3y ago

sneed_chucker 3y ago

I guess Switzerland is not in Europe either then?

dgellow 3y ago
I think the person you answered to meant Schengen by saying “Europe”. Switzerland is in Schengen.
retrocryptid 3y ago
Next you're going to tell me that Austin is in Texas. Austin is absolutely not in Texas. It is surrounded by Texas in almost the same way West Berlin was "in" East Germany. Maybe more interestingly... Turkey is (and has been for a while) a member of NATO. The last time I was there they were still using the Lira, though it was easy enough to exchange Euros. But there's talk about Turkey joining (I think) the EU as part of the deal for Ukraine to eventually join NATO. So if Turkey joined the EU, would it suddenly be in Europe? My understanding was that Asia started at the Bosphorus, so the majority of Turkey is in Asia Minor. Not to mention Cyprus is supposed to join the Schengen area at some point. Heck. I don't even know if Cyprus is considered part of "Europe." I think my point was even geography sometimes avoids simple categorization. And the Britons all seem to be anti-European. So it seems odd Cambridge wants to build the "European Sili Valley" in a country where the majority of those who voted, voted to reject their European association.

eynsham 3y ago

If Britain ever decided that Cambridge was in Britain (presumably a constituent of a decision that Cambridge should be in Britain, not Europe), it would have done so by one of the Acts of Union.

musicale 3y ago

If they really want a Silicon Vally style housing market, building more houses may not be the right approach.