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China will not lead in advanced semiconductors any time soon, but they are advancing at a blistering rate in many areas. Unlike the US system, a key part of advancing in the Chinese political system is based on how business advances in your area. They have adopted a win at any cost including theft of IP. All rising empires have done this including the US. King George did everything in his power including the death penalty to keep the US and others from stealing British technology and we still robbed them blind until we developed our own base. Sadly our government has become inflexible because its employees demand a rigidity in everything from pay, medical, retirement, job security and other factors that benefit an entrenched system over a rapidly evolving one. The SF Bay Bridge is just one example of almost absolute failure, grossly over budget, massive delays and an end product so bad it's an embarrassment in the cradle of the tech center of the world. The almost iron clad job security for teachers from elementary schools to universities is part of this rigid system that has made our educational system inflexible and expensive. Unless we have an educational system that can adapt to the ever increasing rate of change, the US will fall behind those that do. When investing, I now look for companies that have developed their own education system that is flexible and can rapidly adapt. Many US companies have realized their best educational system is within themselves. If the US is to continue to stay on top, our educational system will have to undergo massive reform. The high costs alone almost guarantee the US will have serious problems in the future. We are already losing key technology after key technology at an ever increasing rate.
I think it has always been the case that beyond basic literacy and numeracy, most education has been on the job. Almost everything else is largely signaling. So I'm not sure it matters much what the formal education system does or does not provide. I am a writer these days, but the last english course I took was when I was 15. I did write a PhD dissertation in computer science, but that was probably more valuable for proving I was smart enough to get a PhD than anything else (my PhD is in network file-systems and I've worked in EDA all my life so never used any of that stuff). Nor that math and physics I did in high school. I can't even remember when I last used any algebra although I know a lot (group theory anyone?). I suppose learning how to work in a disciplined manner is an important aspect of education, but I'm not convinced I couldn't have been a good apprentice programmer at 14, just that the world is not set up that way.
Paul, I agree completely. To many institutions are run strictly for the benefit of their own people and then tell us they are here to help. Sadly, the US has become the world's leading police state with as many people in prison as the police states of Russia and China combined with more than four times the population. Supporting and pushing failing prohibitions of all kinds by law enforcement has created more crime than they prevent by a wide margin at huge human, financial and political costs, while allowing financial crimes of staggering proportions to go unchecked and unpunished. If the US could change this, we would unleash a flood of resources of all types that could be put to good use. Effective, economical education is the key. I feel the teaching of social skills is a sadly neglected area in our primary schools for which we pay a very high price.
