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Re China's breathtaking transformation into a scientific superpower
From: "Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>
Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2018 17:01:44 +0000
---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Gene Spafford <spaf () purdue edu> Date: Mon, Jan 22, 2018 at 9:54 AM Subject: Re: [IP] China's breathtaking transformation into a scientific superpower To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net> This future (although not China specifically) was outlined in the “Gathering Storm”* reports by Norm Augustine et al. back in 2007, and the sequel in 2010. Not only did they predict the loss of US leadership in S&T, but the follow-on effects on the economy and more. Similar to other medium-to-long-range studies, political leaders decided not to do anything about the recommendations because (1) it involved money, (2) it involved scientists, and science is a dirty word to one political segment**, and (3) we weren’t in crisis yet. Instead, we have had political movement in the other direction — impugning the integrity and worth of teachers and scientists, cutting support for education in K-grey, shunning some of the best & brightest who want to immigrate, and make workers in industry (steel, coal) out to be the ones who should get the most support of government. We even have the leadership pandering to a segment of the base that is seeking to accelerate their religious vision of a world-wide apocalypse; this group does not see a need to invest in the future. Unfortunately, in our current fact-free political environment, the underlying problems are likely to intensify. As noted by the commission, once we’ve lost the lead, it will be very if difficult — if even possible — to get it back. * - (worth reading if you haven’t already) Rising Above the Gathering Storm: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/11463/rising-above-the-gathering-storm-energizing-and-employing-america-for Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12999/rising-above-the-gathering-storm-revisited-rapidly-approaching-category-5 ** - Reports are that in the current West Wing, the word “professor” is consider a pejorative, and in Cabinet agencies advisory committees are being disbanded or restocked only with business people. On Jan 22, 2018, at 8:05 AM, Dave Farber <dave () farber net> wrote: ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com> Date: Mon, Jan 22, 2018 at 6:20 AM Subject: [Dewayne-Net] China's breathtaking transformation into a scientific superpower To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com> China’s breathtaking transformation into a scientific superpower By Robert J. Samuelson Jan 21 2018 < https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/chinas-breathtaking-transformation-into-a-scientific-superpower/2018/01/21/03f883e6-fd44-11e7-8f66-2df0b94bb98a_story.html
The National Science Foundation and the National Science Board have just released their biennial “Science & Engineering Indicators,” a voluminous document describing the state of American technology. There are facts and figures on research and development, innovation and engineers. But the report’s main conclusion lies elsewhere: China has become — or is on the verge of becoming — a scientific and technical superpower. We should have expected nothing less. After all, science and technology constitute the knowledge base for economically advanced societies and military powers, and China aspires to become the world leader in both. Still, the actual numbers are breathtaking for the speed with which they’ve been realized. Remember that a quarter-century ago, China’s economy was tiny and its high-tech sector barely existed. Since then, here’s what’s happened, according to the “Indicators” report: ● China has become the second- largest R&D spender, accounting for 21 percent of the world total of nearly $2 trillion in 2015. Only the United States, at 26 percent, ranks higher, but if present growth rates continue, China will soon become the biggest spender. From 2000 to 2015, Chinese R&D outlays grew an average of 18 percent annually, more than four times faster than the U.S. rate of 4 percent. ● There has been an explosion of technical papers by Chinese teams. Although the United States and the European Union each produce more studies on biomedical subjects, China leads in engineering studies. American papers tend to be cited more often than the Chinese papers , suggesting that they involve more fundamental research questions, but China is catching up. ● China has dramatically expanded its technical workforce. From 2000 to 2014, the annual number of science and engineering bachelor’s degree graduates went from about 359,000 to 1.65 million. Over the same period, the comparable number of U.S. graduates went from about 483,000 to 742,000. Not only has Chinese technology expanded. It has also gotten more ambitious. Much of China’s high-tech production once consisted of assembling sophisticated components made elsewhere. Now, says the report, it’s venturing into demanding areas “such as supercomputers and smaller jetliners.” Of course, there are qualifications. China still lags in patents received. Over the past decade, American firms and inventors account for about half the U.S. patents annually, and most of the rest go to Europeans and Japanese. Recall also that China’s population of 1.4 billion is more than four times ours; not surprisingly, it needs more scientists, engineers and technicians. In a sane world — shorn of nationalistic, economic, racial and ethnic conflicts — none of this would be particularly alarming. Technology is mobile, and gains made in China could be enjoyed elsewhere, and vice versa. But in our contentious world, China’s technological prowess is potentially threatening, as the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a congressional watchdog group, has often pointed out. One danger is military. If China makes a breakthrough in a crucial technology — satellites, missiles, cyberwarfare, artificial intelligence, electromagnetic weapons — the result could be a major shift in the strategic balance and, possibly, war. Even if this doesn’t happen, warns the commission, China’s determination to dominate new industries such as artificial intelligence, telecommunications and computers could lead to economic warfare if China maintains subsidies and discriminatory policies to sustain its firms’ competitive advantage. 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