“It is said of all great matters under Heaven: What has been long divided must unite, what has been long united must divide.” —Opening words of The Three Kingdoms Romance, a classic Chinese historical novel by Luo Guanzhong. The beginning of a new year naturally turns one’s thoughts in a numerical direction. Furthermore, as we look forward to 2007, our imagination is liable to overshoot and find itself contemplating the more distant future: the next fifteen years for example. Why fifteen? Permit me to explain. * * * * * * * The ideas I am going to put...