the.world.is.flat-第67节

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United　States　on　temporary　work　visas。　〃When　we　look　at　the　kinds　of　people　that　we　
are　trying　to　hire　here…the　master's　and　Ph。D。　levels　in　photonics　and　optics　
engineering　and　very　large…scale　computer　architecture…what　we　are　finding　is　that　
as　you　go　up　the　food　chain　from　bachelor's　to　master's　to　Ph。D。's；　the　number　of　
people　graduating　from　top…tier　universities　in　those　fields　are　increasingly　
foreign…born。　So　what　do　you　do？　For　years　＇America＇　could　count　on　the　fact　that　
we　still　have　the　best　higher…education　system　in　the　world。　And　we　made　up　for　our　


deficiencies　in　K　through　twelve　by　being　able　to　get　all　these　good　students　from　
abroad。　But　now　fewer　are　coming　and　fewer　are　staying　。　。　。　We　have　no　God…given　
right　to　be　able　to　hire　all　these　people；　and　little　by　little　we　won't　have　the　
first…round　draft　choices。　People　who　graduate　in　these　very　technical　fields　that　
are　critical　to　our　industries　should　get　a　green　card　stapled　to　their　diploma。〃　
It　appears　that　young　people　wanting　to　be　lawyers　started　to　swamp　those　wanting　
to　be　engineers　and　scientists　in　the　1970s　and　early　1980s。　Then；　with　the　dot…com　
boom；　those　wanting　to　go　to　business　school　and　earn　MBAs　swamped　engineering　
students　and　lawyers　in　the　1990s。　
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One　can　also　hope　that　the　marketplace　will　address　the　shortage　of　engineers　and　
scientists　by　changing　the　incentives。　
〃Intel　has　to　go　where　the　IQ　is；〃　said　Koon。　Remember；　she　repeated；　Intel's　chips　
are　made　from　just　two　things…sand　and　brains；　〃and　right　now　the　brains　are　the　
problem　。　。　。　We　will　need　a　stronger　and　more　supportive　immigration　system　if　we　
want　to　hire　the　people　who　want　to　stay　here。　Otherwise；　we　will　go　where　they　are。　
What　are　the　alternatives？　I　am　not　talking　about　data　programmers　or　＇people　with＇　

B。S。　degrees　in　computer　science。　We　are　talking　about　high…end　specialized　
engineering。　We　have　just　started　a　whole　engineering　function　in　Russia；　where　
engineers　have　wonderful　training…and　talk　about　underemployed！　We　are　beefing　that　
up。　Why　wouldn't　you？〃　
Wait　a　minute：　Didn't　we　win　the　Cold　War？　If　one　of　America's　premier　technology　
companies　feels　compelled　to　meet　its　engineering　needs　by　going　to　the　broken…down　
former　Soviet　Union；　where　the　only　thing　that　seems　to　work　is　old…school　math　and　
science　education；　then　we've　got　a　quiet　little　crisis　onour　hands。　One　cannot　stress　
enough　the　fact　that　in　the　flat　world　the　frontiers　of　knowledge　get　pushed　out　
farther　and　farther；　faster　and　faster。　Therefore；　companies　need　the　brainpower　that　
can　not　only　reach　the　new　frontiers　but　push　them　still　farther。　That　is　where　the　
breakthrough　drugs　and　software　and　hardware　products　are　going　to　be　found。　And　
America　either　needs　to　be　training　that　brainpower　itself　or　importing　it　from　
somewhere　else　…or　ideally　both　…if　it　wants　to　dominate　the　twenty…first　century　
the　way　it　dominated　the　twentieth…and　that　simply　is　not　happening。　
〃There　are　two　things　that　worry　me　right　now；〃　said　Richard　A。　Rashid；　the　director　
of　research　for　Microsoft。　〃One　is　the　fact　that　we　have　really　dramatically　shut　
down　the　pipeline　of　very　smart　people　coming　to　the　United　States。　If　you　believe　
that　we　have　the　greatest　re…seach　universities　and　opportunities；　it　all　has　to　be　
driven　by　IQ。　In　trying　to　create　processes　that　protect　the　country　from　undesirables；　
＇the　government＇　has　done　a　much　better　job　of　keeping　out　desirables。　A　really　
significant　fraction　of　the　top　people　graduated　from　our　universities　＇in　science　
and　engineering＇　were　not　born　here；　but　stayed　here　and　created　the　businesses；　and　
became　the　professors；　that　were　engines　for　
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our　economic　growth。　We　want　these　people。　In　a　world　where　IQ　is　one　of　the　most　
important　commodities；　you　want　to　get　as　many　smart　people　as　you　can。〃　

Second；　said　Rashid；　〃We　have　done　a　very　poor　job　of　conveying　to　kids　the　value　
of　science　and　technology　as　a　career　choice　that　will　make　the　world　a　better　place。　
Engineering　and　science　is　what　led　to　so　many　improvements　in　our　lives。　But　you　
talk　to　K　through　twelve　kids　about　changing　the　world　and　they　don't　look　at　computer　
science　as　a　career　that　is　going　to　be　a　great　thing。　The　amazing　thing　is　that　it　
is　hard　to　get　women　into　computer　science　now；　and　getting　worse。　Young　women　in　
junior　high　are　told　this　is　a　really　wretched　lifestyle。　As　a　result；　we　are　not　
getting　enough　students　through　our　systems　who　want　to　be　computer　scientists　and　
engineers；　and　if　we　cut　off　the　flow　from　abroad；　the　confluence　of　those　two　will　
potentially　put　us　in　a　very　difficult　position　ten　or　fifteen　years　from　now。　It　
is　a　pipeline　process。　It　won't　come　to　roost　right　away；　but　fifteen　or　twenty　years　
from　now；　you'll　find　you　don't　have　the　people　and　the　energy　in　these　areas　where　
you　need　them。〃　
From　Richard　Rashid　at　Microsoft　in　the　Northwest　to　Tracy　Koon　at　Intel　in　Silicon　
Valley　to　Shirley　Ann　Jackson　at　Rensselaer　on　the　East　Coast；　the　people　who　
understand　these　issues　the　best　and　are　closest　to　them　have　the　same　message：　Because　
it　takes　fifteen　years　to　create　a　scientist　or　advanced　engineer；　starting　from　when　
that　young　man　or　woman　first　gets　hooked　on　science　and　math　in　elementary　school；　
we　shouldbe　embarking　on　an　all…hands…on…deck；　no…holds…barred；　no…budget…too…large　
crash　program　for　science　and　engineering　education　immediately。　The　fact　that　we　
are　not　doing　so　is　our　quiet　crisis。　Scientists　and　engineers　don't　grow　on　trees。　
They　have　to　be　educated　through　a　long　process；　because；　ladies　and　gentlemen；　this　
really　is　rocket　science。　
：：：：：　EIGHT　
This　Is　Not　a　Test　
We　have　the　power　to　shape　the　civilization　that　we　want。　But　we　need　your　will；　your　
labor；　your　hearts；　if　we　are　to　build　that　kind　of　society。　Those　who　came　to　this　
land　sought　to　build　more　than　just　a　new　country。　They　sought　a　new　world。　So　I　have　
come　here　today　to　your　campus　to　say　that　you　can　make　their　vision　our　reality。　
So　let　us　from　this　moment　begin　our　work　so　that　in　the　future　men　will　look　back　
and　say：　It　was　then；　after　a　long　and　weary　way；　that　man　turned　the　exploits　of　
his　genius　to　the　full　enrichment　of　his　life。　
…〃Great　Society〃　speech；　Lyndon　B。　Johnson；　1964　
As　a　person　who　grew　up　during　the　Cold　War；　I'll　always　remember　driving　along　down　
the　highway　and　listening　to　the　radio；　when　suddenly　the　music　would　stop　and　a　
grim…voiced　announcer　would　come　on　the　air　and　say；　〃This　is　a　test　of　the　emergency　
broadcast　system；〃　and　then　there　would　be　a　thirty…second　high…pitched　siren　sound。　
Fortunately；　we　never　had　to　live　through　a　moment　in　the　Cold　War　where　the　announcer　
came　on　and　said；　〃This　is　not　a　test。〃　That；　however；　is　exactly　what　I　want　to　say　
here：　This　is　not　a　test。　
The　long…term　opportunities　and　challenges　that　the　flattening　of　the　world　puts　
before　the　United　States　are　profound。　Therefore；　our　ability　to　get　by　doing　things　
the　way　we've　been　doing　them…which　is　to　say；　not　always　tending　to　our　secret　sauce　
and　enriching　it…will　not　suffice　anymore。　〃For　a　country　as　wealthy　as　we　are；　it　


is　amazing　how　little　we　are　doing　to　enhance　our　natural　competitiveness；〃　said　
Dinakar　Singh；　

the　Indian…American　hedge　fund　manager。　〃We　are　in　a　world　that　has　a　system　that　
now　allows　convergence　among　many　billions　of　people；　and　we　had　better　step　back　
and　figure　out　what　it　means。　It　would　be　a　nice　coincidence　if　all　the　things　that　
were　true　before　are　still　true　now…but　there　are　quite　a　few　things　you　actually　
need　to　do　differently　。　。　。　You　need　to　have　a　much　more　thoughtful　national　
discussion。〃　The　flat　world；　Singh　argued；　is　now　the　elephant　in　the　room；　and　the　
question　is；　What　is　it　going　to　do　to　us；　and　what　are　we　going　to　do　to　it？　
If　this　moment　has　any　parallel　in　American　history；　it　is　the　height　of　the　Cold　
War；　around　1957；　when　the　Soviet　Union　leaped　ahead　of　America　in　the　space　race　
by　putting　up　the　Sputnik　satellite。　Yes；　there　are　many　differences　between　that　
age　and　our　own。　The　main　challenge　then　came　from　those　who　wanted　to　put　up　walls；　
the　main　challenge　to　America　today　comes　from　the　fact　that　all　the　walls　are　being　
taken　down；　and　other　countries　can　now　compete　with　us　much　more　directly。　The　main　
challenge　in　that　world　was　from　those　practicing　extreme　communism；　namely；　Russia；　
China；　and　North　Korea。　The　main　challenge　to　America　today　is　from　those　practicing　
extreme　capitalism；　namely；　China；　India；　and　South　Korea。　The　main　objective　in　that　
era　was　building　a　strong　state；　the　main　objective　in　this　era　is　building　strong　
individuals。　
What　this　era　has　in　common　with　the　Cold　War　era；　though；　is　that　to　meet　the　
challenges　of　flatism　requires　as　comprehensive；　energetic；　and　focused　a　response　
as　did　meeting　the　challenge　of　communism。　It　requires　our　own　version　of　the　New　
Frontier　and　Great　Society　adapted　to　the　age　of　flatness。　It　requires　a　president　
who　can　summon　the　nation　to　get　smarter　and　study　harder　in　science；　ma