India, China Should Cooperate to Dominate World's Tech Industry

ABC News ^ | Apr 10, 2005 | S. SRINIVASAN

[desidude_in_us]

All the people you mentioned are truly great pioneers, but they are mostly from an earlier time and age. Most of the current names you mention are Asian and they grew up in a cultural set up with different values. Many of them are first generation immigrants, and hence, they werent even exposed to American cultural values while they were growing up. Its not correct to cite the names of a few scientists and say that popular American culture encourages scientists and helps their endeavors.

Or if you wanted to imply that American culture USED to sustain intellectualism, then maybe there seem to have been some significant changes in American culture. Probably a gradual shift in values of a society, that used to earlier reward people for being intellectual to a current trend of rewarding athletes and movie stars and religious leaders :)

Further, popular American culture is unfortunately in the throes of some anti-intellectual phase. Though I too believe that Ward Churchill is a dishonorable man for saying what he did, am afraid people are using him as an excuse to pick on academia. Not to mention how they are targetting even scientific theories with theological doctrines that have nothing to do with science.

I'm referring to the current controversy surrounding the theory of evolution, and how scientists are being targetted by right wing Christian fanatical groups. How they want creationism to be taught along side evolution. Though creationism is merely a belief of the Christian majority of this country, and has nothing to do with scientific studies as such, they do not understand it and instead try to see the entire scientific community as their "enemy".

What makes it more scarier is that the majority of American people, in most polls conducted, agree with their religious leaders.. and indeed believe that the Adam/Eve theory should be taught alongside the theory of evolution in biology text books !

Indeed it is a sad testimony to some creeping anti-secular tendencies, that temperance of mind and spirit, which is quintessential for sustaining scientific attitudes, that the majority of people in this country wouldnt mind imposing their Judeo-Christian values on people of science and people of all other religions.

Such irrational anti-intellectualism is not possible in countries like China/India where, inspite of numerous superstitions among the uneducated, scientists and scientific theories can never be challenged by superstitious dogmas.. its always the other way round over there.

And that is because, scientists are respected for their knowledge and dedication to their cause.

regards,