Copacabana

Is there really a brain drain?

Man was this story encouraging. I'm kind of obsessed with China. As one who fashions themselves a student of world history (deservedly or not...) I have been very aware of the conflicts the West has had with the East over the course of the 20th century. [Please note: the following diatribe is in no way a criticism of the East. And why do I feel compelled to say this? Because political correctness is a bitch...]

Working at a University, particularly a research university, I hear all the time about the supposed "brain drain;" i.e. the proliferation of eastern advancements in the fields of science and technology. Couple this with the undeniable fact that we outsource a bunch of business we could reasonably do here (except that we in this country are just too hoity-toity to do menial work, yeah?), and the fact that, at least in China, there is a philosophy of government that is (hmmmmm. the politically correct monster again) less that democratic, all this "a billion people in China" and "48 to every one of us" stuff can get scary. Except....

China is a veritable petri dish of organisms. There's a whole damn lot of them. And, from what I can tell, the folks living under the antiquated political system they've got are pretty miserable (remember Tiananmen Square?). It seems that every "killer" virus comes out of there (including speculation that the Spanish flu of the early 20th century originated in the east), and Communism (sorry all you neo-Marxists who romanticize what is essentially a tyrannical form of government) is pretty much a proven failure.

So rock on Michael Viscardi, the home-schooled San Diego teen who won first place for his genetics and mathematics research at the 2005-06 Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology. Maybe you can pave the way for the oppressed scientists in China to desire the freedom to operate in their land without the strangle-hold of government playing a role. I mean, you didn't even need the school system, did ya, ya smarty pants!

posted by Lola @ 10:49 AM