> ...two left-leaning think tanks, released a report forecasting that China will have 200 million college graduates by 2030. The report (which also estimates India's progress in creating human capital) paints a grim picture of U.S. decline and demands decisive action.
What is the quality of those 200 million college graduates, however?
One can liken human capital to architecture and building. A house can look like an impressive fortress of concrete and rebar, while the underlying reality is quite different. Witness the buildings in the earthquake stricken regions of Turkey and Sichuan province that fell down because of cost cutting.
Companies can be like this as well. Most large corporations have a façade of solidity while much of the interior is actually made out of fluff, with particular strong structures contained within. In this analogy, good Startups are like little pillboxes or maybe even like tanks. They're all strength. (Or, in William Gibson's words, "all edge.")
I spoke at length with another resident of the hacker hostel I'm at. Her parents moved from China, and the family goes back periodically. She also just graduated from Stanford. Her take on the situation there is that there's a minority who relate very much to western tech culture. They view themselves as part of the same extended tribe that the SV tech belongs to. In other words, they view themselves as being like us. They are likely to be an influential and affluent minority, however.
What is the quality of those 200 million college graduates, however?
One can liken human capital to architecture and building. A house can look like an impressive fortress of concrete and rebar, while the underlying reality is quite different. Witness the buildings in the earthquake stricken regions of Turkey and Sichuan province that fell down because of cost cutting.
Companies can be like this as well. Most large corporations have a façade of solidity while much of the interior is actually made out of fluff, with particular strong structures contained within. In this analogy, good Startups are like little pillboxes or maybe even like tanks. They're all strength. (Or, in William Gibson's words, "all edge.")
I spoke at length with another resident of the hacker hostel I'm at. Her parents moved from China, and the family goes back periodically. She also just graduated from Stanford. Her take on the situation there is that there's a minority who relate very much to western tech culture. They view themselves as part of the same extended tribe that the SV tech belongs to. In other words, they view themselves as being like us. They are likely to be an influential and affluent minority, however.