11 korrents from this piece
Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.
Their wordsI find it bizarre that the world has decided that consumer internet is the highest form of technology.
Their wordsIn fact, I suspect that Chinese firms should be considered underperformers as a whole.
Their wordsWe should think of technology as a living product, which has to be practiced for knowledge even to be maintained at its current level.
Their wordsI believe that the hard-to-measure process knowledge is more important than the more easily observable tools and IP.
Their wordsToday, Chinese workers produce most of the world’s goods, which means that they engage more than anyone else in the technological learning process.
Their wordsFirst, even if most of the workforce learns little, a few thousand line engineers become the world’s greatest experts in electronics assembly.
Their wordsThese hubs allow for tight connections between R&D and manufacturing, shortening the circulation of knowledge in a production loop.
Their wordsThat bet has failed at least in technologies that include high-speed rail, shipbuilding, and telecommunications equipment.
Their wordsAnd it’s difficult for any country to monopolize a key technology over the long term.
Their wordsOne lesson is that technology is highly path-dependent.
Their wordsThe skills US workers learned in the process of becoming an industrial giant helped set the US up for technological leadership over the rest of the century.