Why does the West innovate more?

http://amconmag.com/2007/2007_09_10/article2.html

by byrneseyeview • 19 years ago

19 24 19 years ago

Apparently he hasn't heard of Ruby. But see also: http://paulgraham.com/usa.html

florianb• 19 years ago

Too many old examples,of course the West produced Newton and the fundamentals of modern science but if the West disappeared today China, Japan, South Korea, India and all the other countries would not stop scientific research.

To get basic research done a country has to be rich, in a poor country only applied science gets any budget. And basic research has been a state financed thing for the most parts of history. Or if you look back a bit more a privately financed gentleman hobby.

The table has turned now in many societies there is enough money,talent and a society liberal enough to allow a real science environment. That is brilliant thing because every new researcher speeds up development and benefits the whole.

nreece5• 19 years ago

>> I don't drive a Toyota or shoot with a Canon SLR because they don't work.

A poorly written article in my opinion. It revolves around the viewpoint of the author, without any facts or figures.

danielha• 19 years ago

It's a poorly constructed sentence. I think he meant "I drive a Toyota / shoot with a Canon and it's not because they don't work."

Jd• 19 years ago

Yeah, I agree with your interpretation. Read it multiple times myself.

pg• 19 years ago

Not to defend this particular article, but all essays revolve around the viewpoint of the author. An essay is not a research paper.

nreece5• 19 years ago

Surely, every author has their own stand. I meant that in some cases making a statement without due facts or figures to back that statement, makes it assumptious and biased.

adnam• 19 years ago

And I thought the word "wogs" went out with top-hats.

cyggie• 19 years ago

I'm surprise this is for the "September 10, 2007 Issue" The idea that the eastern world does not look favorably upon risk taker might be true 10 years ago, but thing has definitely changed since then.

JeffL• 19 years ago

For anyone interested in this topic, I very highly recommend _Carnage and Culture_, by Victor Davis Hanson. A fantastic book that destroys many assertions made in the more popular _Guns, Germs, and Steel_.

mechanical_fish• 19 years ago

This is silly. There are more Eastern "innovators" than Western ones. They just prefer to operate out of San Jose and Boston. Globalization works both ways, you know.

Why do the "innovators" make their homes in the USA? That's where the startup hubs are!

http://www.paulgraham.com/america.html

And we should distrust the word "innovator", which tends to be awarded to the engineers with the best English-language marketing team. When a product engineer in Malaysia invents a technique that doubles manufacturing efficiency, she is "skilled"; when an engineer living in Sunnyvale develops a web-based social network he's an "innovator".

mynameishere• 19 years ago

That's Fred Reed. He's an oddball.

But consider: Who's the most famous Japanese American? A lot of people here might say, "Guy Kawasaki", but somebody did a poll asking just this question, and the overwhelming response was..."Bruce Lee". A dead Chinese actor.

gommm• 19 years ago

Even though I don't like him, I'm quite sure that in asia it would be Kiyosaki....

But it's true that from my experience a lot of people in the us have difficulties seeing the difference between japan and china.....

staunch• 19 years ago

FYI: Bruce Lee was an American of mixed German/Chinese descent.

kevinl• 19 years ago

Bruce Lee is of pure Chinese descent.

Update: I am wrong. According to Wikipedia, Bruce Lee's mother is of mixed descent.

Neoryder• 19 years ago

Just think he shouldn't have used math as an example.

saygt• 19 years ago

wow what a giant mess of ignorance and generalizations. I can write an entire article refuting every point he attempted to make.. there are so many Western "innovators" in the artistic field who were "inspired" by Eastern "copycats." Then again, their innovative works were partly influenced by previous artists who were, interestingly enough, Western. Point being, there's no difference in the willingness of one to be innovative, East or West. There are standardized social constraints in any culture but to those with the will to innovate they are irrelevant in making their decision to execute.. results and consequences are a different story. Sorry if this sounded like a rant.. I was just upset by the reality that people with this kind of uneducated views are still abundant. New York City with slanty eyes?? come on

nreece5• 19 years ago

I tried to write a different viewpoint. Does the West innovate more? - http://www.nilkanth.com/archives/2007/09/13/does-the-west-in...

chaostheory• 19 years ago

I don't like the tone of this article, especially the first half (it was bordering on being racist...) - but I agree with the author. While there are exceptions, Asian culture is about obeying and following either your parents, your teacher, your government, or whoever else is above you (your boss).

It's so strong that even some American Asians today are trapped by it (fortunately not many to my knowledge). I actually experienced this when I first moved to the SF bay area. My gf (now wife)'s adherrence to her parent's wishes (even though she didn't agree with them) nearly drove me insane... even though I'm Asian myself, I guess I just can't relate anymore to certain aspects of our culture since I grew up where there were virtually no other Asians....

joe_fishfish• 19 years ago

I remember watching a TV programme a few years back that contrasted the medieval engineering culture of Western Europe with that of China. I can't for the life of me remember the historian's name, but his theory seemed to have some merit.

His basic argument was that there was a fundamental difference in diets between the two cultures. China was primarily a rice-growing culture, which meant that they needed a large amount of space and irrigation to create paddy fields. Once the rice was grown, it was simple to harvest and the only further treatment it needed to be rendered edible was boiling. All in all, the Chinese culture had quite a low-tech solution to the problem of feeding large amounts of people.

On the other hand, rice was not native to Western Europe and impossible to cultivate there anyway. In order to feed its population, European culture grew grains such as wheat, oats and barley, which were not only far harder to harvest but required grinding / milling and baking into bread before they could be rendered edible. Compared to the Chinese rice-based solution, the Western Europe model required a lot more technology. There was, therefore, a much higher demand for technological, engineered solutions to the problem of providing mass sustenance. In turn, this demand led to the adoption of such advances as horse collars, mills, ploughs, crop rotation and horseshoes. All these things were expensive and often required collective solutions.

The historian's main hypothesis was that the effect of this continual (and necessary) improvement of farming techniques was to engender a culture of engineering in Western Europe. Regardless of where the innovations came from (and they were often cribbed from other cultures, often Middle Eastern) the continual and expensive process of re-engineering farming practices led directly to the development of engineering as a discipline.

I really wish I could remember the guy's name.

nreece5• 19 years ago

Fred Reed's (the articles author) website: http://www.fredoneverything.net/

Well, first impressions are often the last impressions.

jey2• 19 years ago

He seems to sum himself up in his latest column: http://www.fredoneverything.net/Brains.shtml

"Thinking About Intelligence: More Trouble Than It's Worth"

nreece5• 19 years ago

With all due respect, somehow his words remind me of Howard Stern :)

carter• 19 years ago

People are the same all over the world. But they are just under different conditions. That is all.

Tell me who's your friends and I'll tell you who you are. How can you be an enterpreneur if all your relatives and friends suppose that stable and reliable job is the only way?

Why does the West innovate more?

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