Who Are The Innovators In The US?

This is a rather interesting study that I haven't seen before. It surveys people who are considered to be innovators and the US to see who they really are and what their backgrounds area.

This study surveys people who are responsible for some of the most important innovations in America. These include people who have won national awards for their inventions, people who have filed for international, triadic patents for their innovative ideas in three technology areas (information technology, life sciences, and materials sciences), and innovators who have filed triadic patents for large advanced-technology companies. In total, 6,418 innovators were contacted for this report, and 923 provided viable responses. This diverse, yet focused sampling approach enables a broad, yet nuanced examination of individuals driving innovation in the United States.

I wish the sampling is larger, but it is what it is. What they found is quite fascinating, especially when framed with the current US political climate on immigration:

• More than one-third (35.5 percent) of U.S. innovators were born outside the United States, even though this population makes up just 13.5 percent of all U.S. residents.

• Another 10 percent of innovators were born in the United States but have at least one parent born abroad.

• More than 17 percent of innovators are not U.S. citizens, yet they are making invaluable contributions to U.S. innovation.

• Immigrants born in Europe or Asia are more than five times as likely as the average native-born U.S. citizen to have created an innovation in America.

• Immigrant innovators also are better educated on average than native-born innovators, with over two-thirds holding doctorates in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics)

I think there's plenty of evidence to show that the US has, throughout its history, depends on immigration of some of the brightest and most innovative individuals around. The question is how to encourage that without abusing the system and replacing US workers, the way the H1-B visa has been abused. That visa program was supposed to bring in high-skilled workers into areas in which there is a shortage of US workers. Unfortunately, that has been used by many companies for what it was prohibited from doing, i.e. replacing US workers with foreign workers that have regular skills not in short supply.

At the same time, we also must keep in mind that dumping the baby out with the bath water isn't the solution either. This survey clearly shows that when it is done right, it has significant benefits to the US economy, even if one take a very conservative approach to the result of the survey. We need a smart, thoughtful, and rational approach to this. Do you think your politicians have such skills to make that type of a decision?

Zz.

Understanding Fish Reactions to Their Reflection

Amazing what you can learn by simply watching a fish looking at itself in the mirror.



Zz.

What You Should Do When Pursued By Zombies

I will now perform a very valuable public service. I will present a clear instruction on what you should do to increase your chances of surviving when you are being pursued by zombies. And no, I don't mean crazed shoppers banging at the door of a Walmart the day after Thanksgiving, and you're the store manager.

When you're being pursued by zombies, run to a shopping mall!

Though the paper itself does not specifically refer to fleeing from zombies, it describes "the survival probability of immobile targets annihilated by random walkers." The conclusions suggest that the people trapped in a mall in "Dawn of the Dead" may be better off than the folks stuck in a farmhouse in "Night of the Living Dead."

Cassi found that the likelihood of survival when threatened by predatory random walkers is closely related to how complex the prey’s hideout is. The more twists and turns, the safer you'll be. In structures that are highly complex and irregular, the chances of the predator coming into contact with its target shrinks down to almost zero.

What better place can there be? You can hide from the zombies, eat a piece of Cinnabon, and get that 50% off on off-season sweater from JC Penney all at the same time!

Zz.