the.world.is.flat-第59部分

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could　not　believe　it。　They　voluntarily　work　fifteen　to　eighteen　hours　a　day　and　come　
in　on　weekends。　They　work　through　holidays；　because　their　dream　is　to　get　to　
Microsoft。〃　Li；　who　had　worked　for　other　American　high…tech　firms　before　coming　to　
Microsoft；　said　that　until　starting　Microsoft　Research　Asia；　he　had　never　seen　a　
research　lab　with　the　enthusiasm　of　a　start…up　company。　
〃If　you　go　in　at　two　a。m。　it　is　full；　and　at　eight　a。m。　it　is　full；〃　he　said。　
Microsoft　is　a　stronger　American　company　for　being　able　to　attract　all　this　talent；　
said　Li。　〃Now　we　have　two　hundred　more　brilliant　people　building　＇intellectual　
property＇　and　patents。　These　two　hundred　people　are　not　replacing　people　in　Redmond。　
They　are　doing　new　research　in　areas　applicable　worldwide。〃　
Microsoft　Research　Asia　has　already　developed　a　worldwide　reputation　for　producing　
cutting…edge　papers　for　the　most　important　scientific　journals　and　conferences。　〃This　
is　the　culture　that　built　the　Great　Wall；〃　he　added；　〃because　it　is　a　dedicated　and　
direction…following　culture。〃　
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Chinese　people；　explained　Li；　have　both　a　superiority　and　an　inferiority　complex　at　
the　same　time；　which　helps　explain　why　they　are　racing　America　to　the　top；　not　the　
bottom。　There　is　a　deep　and　widely　shared　view　that　China　was　once　great；　that　it　
succeeded　in　the　past　but　now　is　far　behind　and　must　catch　up　again。　〃So　there　is　
a　patriotic　desire；〃　he　said。　〃If　our　lab　can　do　as　well　as　the　Redmond　lab；　that　
could　be　really　exciting。〃　
That　sort　of　inspired　leadership　in　science　and　engineering　education　is　now　totally　
missing　in　the　United　States。　
Said　Intel　chairman　Craig　Barrett；　〃U。S。　technological　leadership；　innovation；　and　
jobs　of　tomorrow　require　a　commitment　to　basic　research　funding　today。〃　According　
to　a　2004　study　by　the　Task　Force　on　the　Future　of　American　Innovation；　an　
industry…academic　coalition；　basic　research　performed　at　leading　U。S。　
universities…research　in　chemistry；　physics；　nanotechnology；　genomics；　and　
semiconductor　manufacturing…has　created　four　thousand　spin…off　companies　that　hired　

1。1　million　employees　and　have　annual　world　sales　of　232　billion。　But　to　keep　moving　
ahead；　the　study　said；　there　must　be　a　10　to　12　percent　increase　each　year　for　the　
next　five　to　seven　years　in　the　budgets　of　key　research…funding　agencies：　the　National　
Institute　for　Science　and　Technology；　the　National　Science　Foundation；　the　Department　
of　Energy's　Office　of　Science；　and　the　Department　of　Defense　research　accounts。　
Unfortunately；　federal　funding　for　research　in　physical　and　mathematical　sciences　
and　engineering；　as　a　share　of　GDP；　actually　declined　by　37　percent　between　1970　and　
2004；　the　task　force　found。　At　a　time　when　we　need　to　be　doubling　our　investments　
in　basic　research　to　overcome　the　ambition　and　education　gaps；　we　are　actually　cutting　
that　funding。　
In　the　wake　of　the　Bush　administration　and　the　Republican　Congress's　decision　to　cut　
the　National　Science　Foundation　funding　for　2005；　Republican　congressman　Vern　Ehlers　
of　Missouri；　a　voice　in　the　wilderness；　made　the　following　statement：　〃While　I　
understand　the　need　to　make　hard　choices　in　the　face　of　fiscal　constraint；　I　do　not　
see　the　wisdom　in　putting　science　funding　behind　other　priorities。　We　have　cut　NSF　
despite　the　fact　that　this　omnibus　bill　increases　spending　for　the　
2005　fiscal　year；　so　clearly　we　could　find　room　to　grow　basic　research　while　
maintaining　fiscal　constraint。　But　not　only　are　we　not　keeping　pace　with　inflationary　
growth；　we　are　actually　cutting　the　portion　basic　research　receives　in　the　overall　
budget。　This　decision　shows　dangerous　disregard　for　our　nation's　future；　and　I　am　
both　concerned　and　astonished　that　we　would　make　this　decision　at　a　time　when　other　
nations　continue　to　surpass　our　students　inmath　and　science　and　consistently　increase　
their　funding　of　basic　research。　We　cannot　hope　to　fight　jobs　lost　to　international　
competition　without　a　well…trained　and　educated　workforce。〃　
No；　we　cannot；　and　the　effects　are　starting　to　show。　According　to　the　National　Science　
Board；　the　percentage　of　scientific　papers　written　by　Americans　has　fallen　10　percent　
since　1992。　The　percentage　of　American　papers　published　in　the　top　physics　journal；　
Physical　Review；　has　fallen　from　61　percent　to　29　percent　since　1983。　And　now　we　are　
starting　to　see　a　surge　in　patents　awarded　to　Asian　countries。　From　1980　to　2003；　


Japan's　share　of　world　industrial　patents　rose　from　12　percent　to　21　percent；　and　
Taiwan's　from　0　percent　to　3　percent。　By　contrast；　the　U。S。　share　of　patents　has　fallen　
from　60　percent　to　52　percent　since　1980。　
Any　honest　analysis　of　this　problem　should　note　that　there　are　some　skeptics　who　
believe　that　the　sky　is　not　falling　and　that　scientists　and　the　technology　industry　
might　be　hyping　some　of　this　data；　just　to　get　more　funding。　A　May　10；　2004；　article　
in　the　San　Francisco　Chronicle　quoted　Daniel　S。　Greenberg；　former　news　editor　of　the　
journal　Science　and　author　of　the　book　Science；　Money　and　Politics；　who　argues　that　
〃inside…the…Beltway　science　（lobbying）　has　always　been　insatiable。　If　you　double　the　
NIH　（National　Institutes　of　Health）　budget　in　five　years　（as　recently　happened）；　
they're　（still）　screaming　their　heads　off：　'We　need　more　money。'〃　Greenberg　also　
questioned　the　science　lobbyists'　interpretation　of　a　number　of　statistics。　
Quoting　Greenberg；　the　Chronicle　said；　〃To　put　scientific　publishing　trends　in　
context。　。　。　it's　important　to　look　not　only　at　overall　percentiles　but　also　at　the　
actual　numbers　of　published　papers。　At　first；　it　may　sound　startling　to　hear　that　
China　quadrupled　its　scientific　publication　rate　between　1986　and　1999。　But　it　sounds　
somewhat　less　startling　if　one　real

izes　that　the　actual　number　of　Chinese　papers　published　rose　from　2；911　to　11；675。　
By　comparison；　close　to　a　third　of　all　the　world's　scientific　papers　were　published　
by　Americans…163；526　out　of　528；643。　In　other　words；　China；　a　nation　with　almost　four　
times　the　population　of　the　United　States；　published　（as　of　1999）　only　one…fourteenth　
as　many　scientific　papers　as　the　United　States。〃　
While　I　think　a　dose　of　skepticism　is　always　in　order；　I　also　think　the　skeptics　would　
be　wise　to　pay　more　heed　to　the　flattening　of　the　world　and　how　quickly　some　of　these　
trends　could　change。　It　is　why　I　favor　Shirley　Ann　Jackson's　approach：　The　sky　is　
not　falling　today；　but　it　might　be　in　fifteen　or　twenty　years　if　we　don't　change　our　
ways；　and　all　signs　are　that　we　are　not　changing；　especially　in　our　public　schools。　
Help　is　not　on　the　way。　The　American　education　system　from　kindergarten　through　
twelfth　grade　just　is　not　stimulating　enough　young　people　to　want　to　go　into　science；　
math；　and　engineering。　My　wife　teaches　first…grade　reading　in　a　local　public　school；　
so　she　gets　Education　Week；　which　is　read　by　educators　all　over　America。　One　day　she　
pointed　out　an　article　（July　28；　2004）　headlined；　〃Immigrants'　Children　Inhabit　the　
Top　Ranks　of　Math；　Science　Meets。〃　
It　went　on　to　say；　〃Research　conducted　by　the　National　Foundation　for　American　Policy　
shows　that　60　percent　of　the　nation's　top　science　students　and　65　percent　of　the　top　
mathematics　students　are　children　of　recent　immigrants；　according　to　an　analysis　of　
award　winners　in　three　scholastic　competitions。　。　。　the　Intel　Science　Talent　Search；　
the　U。S。　team　for　the　International　Mathematical　Olympiad；　and　theU。S。　Physics　Team。〃　
The　study's　author　attributed　the　immigrant　students'　success　〃partly　to　their　
parents'　insistence　that　they　manage　study　time　wisely；〃　Education　Week　said。　〃Many　
immigrant　parents　also　encouraged　their　children　to　pursue　mathematics　and　science　
interests；　believing　those　skills　would　lead　to　strong　career　opportunities　and　
insulate　them　from　bias　and　lack　of　connections　in　the　workplace　。。。　A　strong　


percentage　of　the　students　surveyed　had　parents　who　arrived　in　the　United　States　on　
H…1B　visas；　reserved　for　professional　workers。　U。S。　policymakers　who　back　overly　
restrictive　immigration　policies　do　so　at　the　risk　of　cutting　off　a　steady　infusion　
of　technological　and　scientific　skill；〃　said　the　study's　au271　
thor；　Stuart　Anderson；　the　executive　director　of　the　foundation。　The　article　quoted　
Andrei　Munteanu；　eighteen；　a　finalist　for　the　2004　Intel　competition；　whose　parents　
had　moved　from　Romania　to　the　United　States　five　years　earlier。　Munteanu　started　
American　school　in　the　seventh　grade；　which　he　found　a　breeze　compared　to　his　Romanian　
school。　〃The　math　and　science　classes　＇covered　the　same　subject　matter＇　I　was　taking　
in　Romania　。　。　。　when　I　was　in　fourth　grade；〃　he　said。　
For　now；　the　United　States　still　excels　at　teaching　science　and　engineering　at　the　
graduate　level；　and　also　in　university…based　research。　But　as　the　Chinese　get　more　
feeder　stock　coming　up　through　their　improving　high　schools　and　universities；　〃they　
will　get　to　the　same　level　as　us　after　a　decade；〃　said　Intel　chairman　Barrett。　〃We　
are　not　graduating　the　volume；　we　do　not　have　a　lock　on　the　infrastructure；　we　do　
not　have　a　lock　on　the　new　ideas；　and　we　are　either　flatlining；　or　in　real　dollars　
cutting　back；　our　investments　in　physical　science。〃　
Every　four　years　the　United　States　takes　part　in　the　Trends　in　International　
Mathematics　and　Science　Study；　which　assesses　students　after　fourth　grade　and　eighth　
grade。　Altogether；　the　most　recent　study　involved　roughly　a　half　million　students　
from　forty…one　countries　and　the　use　of　thirty　languages；　making　it　the　largest　and　
most　comprehensive　international　study　of　education　that　has　ever　been　undertaken。　
The　2004　results　（for　tests　taken　in　2003）　showed　American　students　making　only　
marginal　improvements　over　the　2000　results；　which　showed　the　American　labor　force　
to　be　weaker　in　science　than　those　of　its　peer　countries。　The　Associated　Press　reported　
（December　4；2004）　that　American　eighth…graders　had　improved　their　scores　in　science　
and　math　since　1995；　when　the　test　first　was　given；　but　their　math　improvement　came　
mainly　between　1995　and　1999；　and　not　in　recent　years。　The　rising　scores　of　Amer