So what hardware is China making that isn't reversed engineered from Taiwan, Japan, or the US and what software is India making that isn't being directed from the US?
Even if the two countries don't co-operate, they stand to cut deeply into the substantial lead that the North Atlantic community now maintains in technology and innovation. Both countries are overcoming the massive underdevelopment of their human resources, and as each of the countries have about three to four times the population of the US, they have that much more potential to grow.
Numbers count, in mounting any sort of competition. Given any kind of modest boost in average degree of achievement, makes the sum total vastly greater over time.
Two giants have wakened.
Caveat the size of Kansas.......
We helped train the Indians and the Chinese in our own universities with lots of direct assistance from our own U.S. government in grants and slots for advanced degrees.
I know because I competed with them when I got mine in Computer Science / EE.
I know for sure their technical expertise is on par and their population of trained engineers far exceeds ours.
I sell software used to design / verify / fabricate advanced integrated circuits and they are my biggest customers.
Maybe this competition will awaken us from our slumber.
Hoppy
It's unlikely but it is possible this will happen. The problem isnt so much a numbers problem in terms of our population versus theirs its the fact that their countries tend to focus HEAVILY on science and engineering. They pump out i think 500k graduates in science and engineering every year, someone correct me if i'm wrong but we pump out 10% of that don't we(50k). I think the problem is our schooling system should emphasize more math and science ad the lower levels(high school, middle school) like they do in india and china. Force kids to be competetive. If you took your average kid from a school over there whose enrolled in science and engineering and put them in a class over here chances are theyd probably be at the top of their class, whereas if you did it the other way around its unlikely they would be at the top.
The liberals have screwed up our education system by making kids think its ok to get things wrong and the fact that kids and parents get up in arms when they actually are challenged in school. Back post WWII our government was encouraging science and engineering and now it seems like we hardly care. Yea there is the problem of outsourcing, but we need to deal with the problems locally so american companies don't run off and hire a worker in India or China. I think pushing for a flat tax and less regulation and giving companies incentives to work here would work wonders on our economy and take us to a much higher level that everyone else looks like a joke compared to us.
Looks like America will go back to grow potatoes.
Oh well, it couldn't last forever....
China must cut off relations with Pakistan if they plan to strengthen relationship.
As we can see from many of the comments, vanity and effeminacy are the main attributes that can quickly leave a country far behind in high technology ingenuity.
Developers and engineering technicians should begin working as consultants and by contract only now, worldwide. Advertise with hype sheets, and refuse to fill out applications.
And Mr. Greenspan: lower the rate again! They're still too conceited and lazy!
So?
In recent years I've seen the Indian press publish articles about the need for innovation. Education emphasizes passing tests rather that innovative thinking.
Also, some westerners have questioned the shortcut to "superpower" status. To wit, the economy is being pumped up by outside forces. India's history has been supplying raw materials. First minerals for example and now "gray matter." China is Lenin's NEP, IMO.
One Indian who understands says, "India is on the cusp of interesting new times. . . we have the golden opportunity to present ourselves as designers of monuments, not suppliers of granite."
But things have to change in India. Most of the designers are nonresident Indian citizens working in the U.S. They need to work for India say the resident Indians.
There is much discussion such as this four-part series, "The path to 'super innovation' in India," published last year at http://www.rediff.com.