Why does so much innovation come from America? Because it sucks.
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Re: Why does so much innovation come from America? Because it sucks.
#2That's a pretty lame thesis.
By that logic we should see the most innovation coming out of the worst places on earth.
How's that innovation coming out of the Sudan going? Lots of things that suck there that could be fixed.
What, Greece doesn't have a load of problems that should drive innovation?
America has a culture of individualism, problem solving, and allowing those who solve problems to keep the spoils of their market victories.
Re: Why does so much innovation come from America? Because it sucks.
#3Not going to touch the link-baity thesis of the article, but I'm glad I read it if for no other reason than the mention of Larry Hillblom. A quick read of his Wikipedia article[1] was surprisingly interesting, what with the missing body, scrubbed house, and paternity saga.
Re: Why does so much innovation come from America? Because it sucks.
#4That's a pretty lame thesis. By that logic we should see the most innovation coming out of the worst places on earth. How's that innovation coming out of the Sudan going? Lots of things that suck there that could be fixed. What, Greece doesn't have a load of problems that should drive innovation? America has a culture of individualism, problem solving, and allowing those who solve problems to keep the spoils of their…
Of course, education, immigration and a legal framework without a high degree of fraud are also important.
I don't think individualism would be a major factor.
Re: Why does so much innovation come from America? Because it sucks.
#5That's a pretty lame thesis. By that logic we should see the most innovation coming out of the worst places on earth. How's that innovation coming out of the Sudan going? Lots of things that suck there that could be fixed. What, Greece doesn't have a load of problems that should drive innovation? America has a culture of individualism, problem solving, and allowing those who solve problems to keep the spoils of their…
Of course, education, immigration and a legal framework without a high degree of fraud are also important. I don't think individualism would be a major factor.
Change, including solutions, comes from an unwillingness to adapt oneself to the status quo. Innovation is abhorrent to conformity, and conformity puts a deathly pallor on creativity. A tolerance for quirkiness is essential, embracing it is better.
Re: Why does so much innovation come from America? Because it sucks.
#6That's a pretty lame thesis. By that logic we should see the most innovation coming out of the worst places on earth. How's that innovation coming out of the Sudan going? Lots of things that suck there that could be fixed. What, Greece doesn't have a load of problems that should drive innovation? America has a culture of individualism, problem solving, and allowing those who solve problems to keep the spoils of their…
There's a fair ammount of (necessity-inspired) innovation coming out of Africa: http://www.economist.com/node/21560912
Re: Why does so much innovation come from America? Because it sucks.
#7From a logical standpoint this makes no sense at all, but it was still a fun mental experiment.
I guess if this was true, innovation would go up when countries suck, thus leading to a better situation and less innovation, which means the country would eventually suck again… after a while, would things finally come to a stop at an innovation/suckiness equilibrium?
Re: Why does so much innovation come from America? Because it sucks.
#8That's a pretty lame thesis. By that logic we should see the most innovation coming out of the worst places on earth. How's that innovation coming out of the Sudan going? Lots of things that suck there that could be fixed. What, Greece doesn't have a load of problems that should drive innovation? America has a culture of individualism, problem solving, and allowing those who solve problems to keep the spoils of their…
Of course, education, immigration and a legal framework without a high degree of fraud are also important. I don't think individualism would be a major factor.
> I don't think individualism would be a major factor.
There are many countries which satisfy your former criteria yet lack this; none of them have the same innovation economy that the United States possesses.
Re: Why does so much innovation come from America? Because it sucks.
#9I've read this, but I don't know if it's true other than my own anecdotal experiences. But the reason that so much innovation comes from America because the it's so damn easy to start a business and take risks while having protection from the law. I can (and have) started businesses in under an hour with full legal protection of the law. That is, my personal assets are separated from my business assets. This includes getting a bank account and federal tax ID number. In the state of Nebraska this costs around $125. In other words, it's dirt cheap to do so.
I've also been told that officials are not as corrupt in other countries. I can't verify this, as all of the foreign countries that I've visited has been for leisure.
It could also be stated that it's in our culture and our DNA... that if you work hard you too can live the American Dream and prosper. Obviously, that's not always the case, but that statement is repeated quite often from peers, schools, and businesses so maybe some citizens start to believe it i.e. self-fulfilling prophesy.