

Why does the West innovate more? - byrneseyeview
http://amconmag.com/2007/2007_09_10/article2.html
Apparently he hasn't heard of Ruby. But see also: <a href="http://paulgraham.com/usa.html" rel="nofollow">http://paulgraham.com/usa.html</a>
======
florianb
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.

------
mechanical_fish
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".

------
nreece
>> 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.

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

~~~
nreece
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.

------
joe_fishfish
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.

------
saygt
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

~~~
chaostheory
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....

------
JeffL
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_.

------
mynameishere
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.

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

~~~
kevinl
Bruce Lee is of pure Chinese descent.

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

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

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

Well, first impressions are often the last impressions.

~~~
jey
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"

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

~~~
jey
Maybe Howard Stern modulo entertainment. :)

------
carter
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?

------
cyggie
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.

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

