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Old September 9th 08, 02:15 PM posted to sci.space.policy,sci.environment
BradGuth
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Default United States Falling Behind EVERYONE In Physics, Science,Rockets, EVERYTHING.

On Sep 9, 3:25 am, Ian Parker wrote:
On 8 Sep, 19:46, Damon Hill wrote: Ian Parker wrote
oups.com:


I think the US is falling behind both Europe and Asia. I
think there are a number of reasons.


1) The failure to build a supercollider.


Too busy building advanced semiconductor fabs--those are
hugely expensive.


The problem is the US isn't. There is a $50billion adverse trade gap
in high tech products. OK a lot of that may well be in assembly and
also in "old hat" chips. Still automation in this field mitigates the
effect of higher US wage levels. The US has allowed itself to fall
behind in mobile phone technology, to take one example.

Once a country is good it tends to stay good. Scandanavia is good and
looks like remaining so. The US got ioff to a poor start because it
lacked a standard. This reflects the poor quality of public policy. A
Europe consisting of a great many countries managed to agree a
standard which the US failed to do.

2) Creationalism, the view that the World is no older than
the Ice Age.


Quite a lot of people here, most in fact, don't believe in
that. Still, the fundamentalist conservatives are inhibiting
progress.


3) Governmenr interference with things like Stem Cell
research.


Got more specific examples; this seems trivial by itself.


If you read me carefully you would realise that there is no single
factor. The important factor is attracting young people into science.
Obama wants to end the ban on stem cell research. That will do no
good, you cannot have a research program which proceeds in fits and
starts.

One other serious consideration is the nature of the Genesis story
itself. No one can say CERN will melt the Antarctic ice cap (as in the
Garden of Eden). Black holes are (just) semi respectable. Overiding
everything is the feeling that there are areas of knowledge we should
not be enquiring into. This is to me immensely damaging.

Fundamentalism has little effect in Europe and none at all in the Far
East. It is as well to remember this.

4) The US is now a lot less welcoming to foreigners than it
was in the time of Kennedy.


You don't live here, do you? Spanish has become the 2nd
national language by default. We're not as bilingual as
Canada but our economic wealth attracts much immigration.


I was talking in the main about the ease of obtaining student visas
etc. The "war" on Terror. Al Qaeda say they are religious yet they are
overwhemingly supporting Europe and China. That isd what historians of
the future will conclude. I think they will be even less happy with
what will follow US dominance than they are with the US.

If you were taking a history exam in the mid to late 21st century you
would be expected to list all these factors in a question about the
decline of US science and (ultimately) US political power.

- Ian Parker


As you say, many factors are responsible for the ongoing demise and
subsequent "decline of US science and (ultimately) US political
power".

Firstly, our public education of physics and science sucks, not to
mention our having to learn and accept lies instead of truths.

~ Brad Guth Brad_Guth Brad.Guth BradGuth