Hi Jay,
<<<I suspect it is perhaps not wise to fall back on structure of language as a competitive advantage, as language is perhaps indicative of thought process, and as such, what is a disadvantage one day can easily become an advantage the next, like chromosomes sequences>>>
In perhaps what you may think of as a back handed compliment, I am implying that the Chinese are a remarkable people in being able to compete while straddled with such a primitive language structure. A clue to your new world order would be the number of people studying English as a second language versus Chinese. If you look at the Chinese language being keyed into a computer you would instantly recognize that as a KLUDGE. How many must read books are there that are written in Chinese and must be translated into other languages? On the other hand, while things that work and have a lot of value are sought after and copied worldwide - such as Chinese Porcelein, Silk, and Chinese cooking.
<<<In any case, the Chinese speaking PhD students in the west do not seem to suffer unduly for their language ability issues (or should I perhaps say multiple language abilities?) vis a vis their Indian colleagues.>>>
Those 50 students could succeed in any society speaking any language.
<<<Additionally, the future holds many possibilities, mostly unexpected. You see, in an alternative version of the coming world order, post TeoTwawKi, suppose for a moment that the manufacturing of China is married to the software of India and both manages to tap into the resources of Russia and Australia and Indonesia, what will then be the center of the world? Oops, can this be the direction? Is this happening? We will have to wait and see.>>>
That is going to be a long wait. But by the way, the Indians and the Australians already speak a form of English, and I do not detect any rush of Russians studying Chinese. Meanwhile, the Indonesians every so often purge their citizenry of people with Chinese ancestry.
<<<... In a game, it is perhaps best that one understands and appreciates what one's competitor is doing every step of the way, and leaving the other players in ignorance about what oneself is doing unless one chooses otherwise.>>>
What most people fail to understand, including most people in the US is the transparency of knowledge, and the willingness to share knowledge for its own sake, to continually search for truth - that is the fundamental strength of Western Civilization.
If you have Nobel Prize caliber scientists in China and you try to keep them a secret from the rest of the world, you are also keeping them a secret from your own society. Out of a handful of scientist with Chinese ancestry studying in the United States, we have produced a remarkable number of Nobel Prize winners. Where are their counterparts in China? Are they keeping them a secret?
<<<... The reason I do not locate myself in mainland China is that I cannot compete there with as much success.>>>
You are much too modest. The reason I don't think you can compete in China is because they are not going to make it easy for you to compete. You would have to learn to be as articulate in Chinese as you are in English. I don't think you are in any rush to do that. You are a real smart guy <GGGGGG>.
regards,
Mary |
