This is a fantastic option when the only other viable option is to get them a phone. They can text parents, they can be tracked, but they can’t watch stupid YouTube or TikTok videos, and they can’t participate in 95% of the stuff that harms kids at that age.
What’s become the “irresponsible norm” is to not give your kids a phone, which is crazy, because it’s just giving tech companies the ability to manipulate kids.
Yeah, that pattern can be seen everywhere in semiconductors. E.g. the transistor invention vs. Lilienfeld, Heil, Matare etc. So the scope is more narrow than "Inventend Semiconductors".
Generally, there seems to be a tendency to disregard discoveries from outside the US. I think this pattern can still be observed today...
Other examples: Invention of light bulb, telephone.
China, with heavy state subsidies, has also proven to be pretty effective. Interestingly, it hasn't had to embrace immigration because it has over a billion people.
Counterpoint on China - they will import special talent and help them immigrate. And of course, there are people who'll value the lifestyle of Shenzhen over San Francisco, or Shanghai over New York. One example that comes to mind is Dr. Erdal Arikan.
Most foreigners don't really want citizenship and are content being expats. The ones who do want citizenship are often from countries with weak passports, which often means weak infrastructure, poor HDIs and usually not that much of a skillset that they can bring to the table.
This story is a great example of the system taking a brilliant person, and stomping their opportunity down because they were from the wrong class. But replace class with whatever you like.
They do actually. There’s a fair bit of critique you can level at the system from a country-wide economic perspective and especially from a world-trade perspective, but they did manage to get a system in place where a central government can influence both the area and speed of innovation.
The main thing they do is stack the market to be very favourable for a given industry and then have extreme competition between the companies.
They not only encourage innovation but also cross-pollination too. So say you discovered some minor technology, they'll even help you connect with other folks who work in the space, potentially combine the innovations together to create a new final product that can actually be licensed to OEMs.
Where I find China lacking is in creativity and imagination. Yes, there are some changes in that front happening, but you'll never find OpenAI, Helion Energy or SpaceX being founded in China. Those projects won't even get the greenlight from the CCP to get started off the ground because of their high capital and startup costs.
It provided the above to a select few that thought the way they were supposed to. It also did NOT provide to a few million that didn’t think the correct way.
Any history book trying to quantify the US semiconductor industry can point to real quantifiable things.
1. The US was only major Economy after WWII that came out unscratched and with lots of capital. Japan, Europe started from ruins with no capital.
2. 1956 Consent Degree and the pressure from looming future antitrust investigations. Transistor technology became available for startups. William Shockley was able to leave Dell to develop semiconductors elsewhere because this decision. It was probably the most significant lawsuit in the history and caused massive explosion of innovations. Almost 8000 patents became available.
3. Cold war, Minuteman II production. In 1962, the U.S. government purchased 100% of all integrated circuits produced in the country.
1. This was a contributing factor for sure.
2. Antitrust investigations were covered in the talk.
3. This definitely spurred US production and development for sure.
But are these stereotypes or just contributing factors?
What’s become the “irresponsible norm” is to not give your kids a phone, which is crazy, because it’s just giving tech companies the ability to manipulate kids.
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