Who Owns the Future?

[bullion]

Here's a proposition. If people from other countries have higher test scores, let's offer them full scholarships to Harvard and American citizenships, so America will still own the future!

I think you can look at the difference in test scores in a few ways

1) China has 5x the population of the US and selects the best (outliers?) from a much larger pool, naturally China should do better on international competitons. In contrast, the US has the best special education programs. Whether it's our benevolent culture or humanitarian values, we promote creativity over fixed curriculum and distribute educational resources across more fields. We offer great opportunities for career changers. Only time can tell whether fixed systems (oversea) and flexible ones (ours) helps us in the long run (Sparta vs Athens). In general, countries where colleges evaluating high school students solely with standardized subject tests do better in international competitions.

2) Evolution and competition is a big motivator for education reform, but the "measures" to what a good educational means are of even greater importance. The male-only education system with corporeal punishments from the past reflected the social and economical needs for a labor/military-based economy. Modern societies with less wars/farming needs allow girls (and people with disability) more opportunities to contribute to society and compete for top positions in knowledge-based economy. But if wars break out tomorrow and I randomly lock a American college students (who might have lower test scores but plays sports for his school) and one of those test score geniuses in a room (or on the battlefield), who do you think is more likely to survive? Test scores only reflect limited attributes of a person, and we should consider education (or survival likelihood) in a more holistic framework.

3) Test scores is only one measure of the overall competence of a country. Top notch scientists across the world continue to seek further education/training/employment in the States and our nation is multicultural since its origin. We offer a fair financial/justice system (at least in theory) that reward top performers, and our diversity is our competitive advantage as a nation. The US healthcare system (arguably one of the most competitive profession) fills more than 1/3 of its residency programs with foreign medical graduates, and America's historical ability to attract and retain foreign talents is its biggest strength.

Anyone with the proper guidance and effort can appear "smarter" under a particular set of measures (for Domini, it'll be reciting Shreve, writing C++; for helpteye, it's his awesome IQ score). But I've also seen many dumb people (every morning in the mirror) who manage to game the test system with enough practice (yes, I'm one of those Asians who memorized the dictionary to prepare for GRE verbal). The main reason for our low test score is that our society rewards opportunities and successes with much more holistic measures. If test score one day becomes the sole measure for excellence (as they do oversea), then we will do just as well as anyone else in the world.

 

[bigbadwolf]

Natural selection? This is insulting to Africans and Africa, where their is a large population of highly intelligent people. Proof of the earliest human life form was found in Africa, which tells us that we all derived from there. So if we all derived from Africa and the continents slowly separated, you would be saying that just because you are born in a certain part of the world that you are more or less intelligent than others born in a different region. False. Physical differences, yes, not mental capacity.

Look: You asked, I answered. I don't want to be dragged into another damn fool debate.

 

[Georgina]

If people in China / Asian countries are so smart (on tests), how come that none of the innovations come from China?
Most of the innovations come from America, by American-born. (I am not an American born). I don't see that Americans are dumb - just the opposite. They might not get 100% on every test, but many of them are very good at what they are doing - and they are innovative. I had an American-born co-worker, who was the best programmer / systems analyst (got retired) - never went to college, and he told me, that even in elementary / high school, many times, he handed in an empty paper, when he was supposed to write an essay. The only reason he did not fail in English, because he was doing well in math, and the school had mercy (mainly for his mother )
I have a Chinese co-worker (Chinese-born), and even she said that, after returning from a trip to China (after 20 years) - that she was surprised to see that today in China everything is copied from America. It almost look like that the high test scores have a reversed effect: higher test scores = fewer innovations.

 

[bullion]

Be very cautious when commenting and implying such nonexisting correlation. Although China might have lagged behind in innovation in the past half century, many developed countries with similar culture (and test score prowess) such as Japan, Korea, and Taiwan had made plenty of breakthroughs in technology. Many Americans (and Westerners) overestimate their accomplishments due to lack of information, forcing their legal rulings to foreign jurisdictions, and inability to read non-English publications. Japanese cellphone technology is lightyears ahead that in the States. Samsung (Korean) recently came up with the first transparent LCD over non-flat surface. Taiwanese scientists developed new rice strains that grew faster and increased turnover, which was later pirated (and patented) by Americans because Taiwanese researchers didn't know they could/would patent biological matters (DNA strain still a big blurry area in American patent system).

The reality is that the Asian system is incredibly efficient in laying solid foundations for analysis-based fields like sciences, but historically lacked resources toward arts and researches. Top Asian universities are mostly public and vulnerable to regime shifts and political interference, and most top students in Asia chooses to seek opportunities in Western countries where academias have greater independence. When Congress considered raising the bar for immigration a few years back to promote domestic recruitment, American technology firms simply told Congress that innovations would be impossible without imported talents. If you follow scientific journals or recruitments of academicians, you will recognize disproportional number of recent innovations/publications/findings in the States being traced back to Asian education system. In fact, the most innovative/infamous practice in recent financial history of using Gaussian Copula models for CDO pricing was pioneered by Dr David Li who grew up and completed undergraduate work in China.

The biggest difference between the two systems is WHY people study. In Asia, education and test taking is associated with government placements and therefore has a clearly-defined path; in the US, education is associated with enlightenment and many of our breakthroughs are results of trials and errors (and we pay our PhDs relatively poorly). The doctrines of separation of church and state and academic freedom also make Western institutions more attractive than their Eastern counterparts. But historical events are really poor excuse to discredit the ability to innovate in Asia. Recent Chinese education reform has made much progress, and the staggering US economy has prompted many foreign students in top American universities returning to their home countries (many PhDs from top universities are getting VIP treatments to be hired back to China). So instead of bathing ourselves in past glory, we should spend more time on making America more welcoming to top foreign talents and improving our own systems intead of bickering "who's best".

As for copying from America, you can think about it like this... Top Chinese graduates were smart, but the country didn't have money for them to do the necessary research. So they came to the States, did research at American colleges, and sold the new products to Americans. Now China has the money to hire them back, these Chinese scholars gladly bring back their knowledge and make those same products available to Chinese consumers. Only this time, the Chinese scholars will be innovating for Chinese companies, and Americans will have to buy future new products at a premium.

 

[mfegrad]

Only this time, the Chinese scholars will be innovating for Chinese companies, and Americans will have to buy future new products at a premium.

all well and true, except for the elephant in the room: state-sponsored ip theft on a massive scale.

 

[bullion]

all well and true, except for the elephant in the room: state-sponsored ip theft on a massive scale.

1) For non-IP-sensitive work, it's not theft if it's a simple transfer of skilled labor.
2) For IP-sensitive work, why should Chinese government honor IP protection granted by American government? It's not like you check with the Chinese IP office when you apply for American IPs (although modern reform is heading that way). If Americans do want to impose their rules on foreign jurisdictions, would they advocate Chinese court rulings reciprocally as well?

 

[mfegrad]

1) For non-IP-sensitive work, it's not theft if it's a simple transfer of skilled labor.
2) For IP-sensitive work, why should Chinese government honor IP protection granted by American government? It's not like you check with the Chinese IP office when you apply for American IPs (although modern reform is heading that way). If Americans do want to impose their rules on foreign jurisdictions, would they advocate Chinese court rulings reciprocally as well?

there has been a lot of news lately about the chinese govt infiltrating and taking trade secrets, ip, research, etc. from scores of large us companies. this has nothing to do with filing the proper paperwork in china. if you don't see a major problem with this, there's not much we can talk about.

 

[bullion]

there has been a lot of news lately about the chinese govt infiltrating and taking trade secrets, ip, research, etc. from scores of large us companies. this has nothing to do with filing the proper paperwork in china. if you don't see a major problem with this, there's not much we can talk about.

And during wartime we "recruited" (or from Hitler's eyes, "stole") foreign scientists from Russia/Germany and infiltrated/took trade secrets/ip/research from their major research facilities is...? It's competition, and we have done our share of dirty work in history. Culturally, many Chinese were raised with the concept of shared properties from the communist regime (kinda like the American Indians who didn't think you could "buy" Manhattan,) so they simply don't regard property rights as fundamental as the Westerners do (did you know Chinese cannot own land? All land are state-owned with "leases.") It's only a problem if you are completely ignorant of foreign culture and disrespect their unique regulatory structure. But if you do your homework and figure out which government official to buy off, you'll have no problem protecting your IP in China at all (and trust me, all Chinese businessmen have to do it with their own gov't as well, why should we Americans be so different?)

 

[mfegrad]

And during wartime we "recruited" (or from Hitler's eyes, "stole") foreign scientists from Russia/Germany and infiltrated/took trade secrets/ip/research from their major research facilities is...? It's competition, and we have done our share of dirty work in history. Culturally, many Chinese were raised with the concept of shared properties from the communist regime (kinda like the American Indians who didn't think you could "buy" Manhattan,) so they simply don't regard property rights as fundamental as the Westerners do (did you know Chinese cannot own land? All land are state-owned with "leases.") It's only a problem if you are completely ignorant of foreign culture and disrespect their unique regulatory structure. But if you do your homework and figure out which government official to buy off, you'll have no problem protecting your IP in China at all (and trust me, all Chinese businessmen have to do it with their own gov't as well, why should we Americans be so different?)

so let me see if i can recap...

there's a valid comparison between employing those who defected from nazi germany and training citizens to infiltrate and steal private information from other countries/corporations.

the following is a healthy analogy: usa:china::germany:usa.

us businesses should openly engage in bribery overseas because that's what the locals do.

ip laws don't matter because (and here i'm making a bit of an inferential leap) companies will innovate and spend on r&d out of the goodness of their hearts.

all is clear. thanks for clearing that up!

 

[Noko]

If people in China / Asian countries are so smart (on tests), how come that none of the innovations come from China?
Most of the innovations come from America, by American-born. (I am not an American born). I don't see that Americans are dumb - just the opposite. They might not get 100% on every test, but many of them are very good at what they are doing - and they are innovative. I had an American-born co-worker, who was the best programmer / systems analyst (got retired) - never went to college, and he told me, that even in elementary / high school, many times, he handed in an empty paper, when he was supposed to write an essay. The only reason he did not fail in English, because he was doing well in math, and the school had mercy (mainly for his mother )
I have a Chinese co-worker (Chinese-born), and even she said that, after returning from a trip to China (after 20 years) - that she was surprised to see that today in China everything is copied from America. It almost look like that the high test scores have a reversed effect: higher test scores = fewer innovations.

Edit: I am on a laptop and cutting off the screenshot at #15 was a lot easier than connecting images together.

 

[AnthonyJW]

Look: You asked, I answered. I don't want to be dragged into another damn fool debate.

Hostility gets you no where. Stops intellectual thinking in attempt to save face.

Peace!

 

[Georgina]

I'm not talking about patent applications, research, and publications - most of them don't go anywhere. Many organizations are collecting money for "breast cancer research", "epilepsy research", etc. - and where are the results? A friend of mine, who is a biologist, works in a research center, and she's saying that most of these research won't produce any real results, but they have to continue, and they have to do publications, etc. - because they get paid to do it.

I"m talking about real innovations in the 20th and 21st centuries. Auto industry, film industry, computer, operating systems, programming languages, internet, cell phone, iPhone, iPad, major medical breakthroughs, etc. Why none of them were invented in Asia, where the test scores are so high? Currently, Apple is one of the best high-tech companies in the world, and they closed their Research & Development Center in India, and they employ mostly Americans.

Nonetheless, if someone like the "Asian education system", can choose to educate him/herself and his/her family that way. I have found the American way is much better and much more efficient. At the end of the day, it does not matter if you have taken 100 advanced math courses, and you can solve numerous complicated mathematical problems, and scored 100% on all your tests - what matters is: 1/ can you come up with a great invention? and/or 2/ can you make money for the financial firm (as a "quant"), and/or 3/ can you pass that knowledge (teach)?

 

[bullion]

so let me see if i can recap...

there's a valid comparison between employing those who defected from nazi germany and training citizens to infiltrate and steal private information from other countries/corporations.

Well, Chinese students/workers from top US schools are "defecting" back to China cuz deteriorating economy conditions. And we sent plenty of field agents oversea to steal military intel/private information from other countries/corporations.

the following is a healthy analogy: usa:china::germany:usa.

Well, the actions seem very similar to me. My point is that we really aren't that high and mighty if you check our history.

us businesses should openly engage in bribery overseas because that's what the locals do.

Business is about adaptation, survival, and elimination. There's no universal standard for what good business practices constitute simply due to diversity in culture and history (I know it might be hard for you to undersand, but the US isn't the only country on earth). Google might sit high and mighty and leave the Chinese market completely, but they also have to accept the consequence of losing a large proportion of the global marketing revenue to Baidu and the potential impact of that decision to their bottomline.

ip laws don't matter because (and here i'm making a bit of an inferential leap) companies will innovate and spend on r&d out of the goodness of their hearts.

all is clear. thanks for clearing that up!

If you've ever actually studied the history of IP laws, you would realize that IP laws are results of tug of war between US companies. It is hardly an universal concept with tons of hidden exemptions between the lines (in comparison to crimes like murder which has like one line, "murder is bad.") The point is that American IP laws were shaped up in favor of American companies, but these laws often result in blocking patents that hinder R&D in developing countries. So it should be no surprise that foreign governments in developing countries are often reluctant toward enforcing IP regulations from developed nations.

For developed nations like Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, however, there are plenty cases against American corporations for IP infringements, and many foreign companies cry foul when American courts rule disproportionally in favor of American defendents. And yes foreign companies do spend on R&D out of the desire to beat their American competitors with tremendous successes (ever looked at.... Toyota's?) China is simply in a transitional period that has yet found benefits (to its citizens) for enforcing American IP laws. When they have a big enough IP repository that need protection from American piracy, then reciprocal protection/enforcement will ensue.

 

[bullion]

I'm not talking about patent applications, research, and publications - most of them don't go anywhere. Many organizations are collecting money for "breast cancer research", "epilepsy research", etc. - and where are the results? A friend of mine, who is a biologist, works in a research center, and she's saying that most of these research won't produce any real results, but they have to continue, and they have to do publications, etc. - because they get paid to do it.

Having worked in a medical lab myself, I can tell you first hand that most true innovations have always been results of hit and miss process. If you already know which direction would produce "real" results, then you wouldn't need research at all.

I"m talking about real innovations in the 20th and 21st centuries. Auto industry, film industry, computer, operating systems, programming languages, internet, cell phone, iPhone, iPad, major medical breakthroughs, etc. Why none of them were invented in Asia, where the test scores are so high? Currently, Apple is one of the best high-tech companies in the world, and they closed their Research & Development Center in India, and they employ mostly Americans.

Auto industry - Toyota (one of the most quiet and durable brand beating ALL American cars?)
Film industry - Asian movies tend to have much lower budget (cultural reasons), and therefore don't really invest in special effects. But they have plenty of rich plots/content (and American filmmakers remake a ton of movies from oversea)
Computer - infinite number of semiconductors manufacturers in Asia. Sony... Samsung... Taiwan Semiconductors...
Operating Systems - only bc computer was first popularized in the States. Hardly an "American" invention considering a huge open source community
Programming languages/Internet - Ruby, the base language for Ruby on Rails (a popular programming framework for building web applications), was invented by a Japanese guy. Also Asians in general have very poor peer-support system. So they are often the first to reverse-engineering anything you throw at them, but you rarely see anyone documents anything (also due to poor IP protection, many innovations remain proprietary)
cell phone/iPhone/iPad - American cell phones are very slow and outdated bc 1) Japan/Korea/Taiwan are all island countries and therefore can rebuild/renovate their towers faster, and 2) culturally they get a new phone like every 3 months. But you don't see those phones in the US bc our land is too big (too many towers to upgrade) and our network is too slow for those phones. Tablet PCs (iPad) had been around for a really long time as well. The only innovation Apple made was making everything look "pretty," which would hardly be a scientific innovation (but definitely a marketing one).
Major medical breakthroughs - the history of Western medicine (and research) oversea is much more different than that in the States. I guess we are also disregarding any sort of herbal/organic/non-Western medicines

And no, if you ever actually visit the Apple headquarter and their engineering lab, MANY employees went to colleges in Aisa and only came to the States for graduate school (and stayed.)

Nonetheless, if someone like the "Asian education system", can choose to educate him/herself and his/her family that way. I have found the American way is much better and much more efficient. At the end of the day, it does not matter if you have taken 100 advanced math courses, and you can solve numerous complicated mathematical problems, and scored 100% on all your tests - what matters is: 1/ can you come up with a great invention? and/or 2/ can you make money for the financial firm (as a "quant"), and/or 3/ can you pass that knowledge (teach)?

I agree

 

[euroazn]

 

[Georgina]

This is what I have been talking about:
Almost everything has been innovated in the United States - others just copy (Toyota, etc.), or manufacture (computer hardware, etc.)
If you admire the "Asian way of education", then go for it - I think, education is more than just preparing for numerous tests, memorizing the dictionary, and solving calculus problems, etc.

 

[DominiConnor]

Asian education is partly shaped to deal with the bulk rote learning necessary to learn the primitive Japanese & Chinese forms of writing, it is simply not possible for anyone, no matter how smart he is, to work out for himself what a given symbol means.
It's top down and structured which has both good and bad things to it, certainly the lack of parental input into decision making in most Asian countries (and France) leads to good outcomes. France has a very rigid system yet is one of the most creative places on the planet, not just in science but in many other fields. Japan is reasonably creative, not as much as you'd hope from the world's 4th biggest economy, but nowhere near the shameful level of creative absence that we see in the "People's" Republic of China. As others have said both Taiwan and Hong Kong are mostly the same ethnic group with similar cultures but manage to invent, whereas I know individual people who've invented more than 1/4 of the world's population has managed to do in the last 200 years.
Something is wrong there, it ain't language and it ain't the education system.

I flatly reject number of patents as evidence of anything. If we see the increasingly ludicrous patents granted by the US PTO then we must despair, but more do I despair more at the stark ignorance of Georgina, my current theory is that she's not a woman, but a misogynist man who wishes us to believe that women are stupid.

Things not invented in the USA:
The nuclear chain reaction
The jet engine
Packet switched networks (how the internet gets this stuff to you)
The world wide web, (the thing you're reading this through)
The liquid crystal (probably what you're reading this on)
The CRT screen (what you're reading it on if not a liquid crystal)
MP3 Players (hint: The Fraunhoffer Institute ain't an art gallery)
Mobile Phones (please explain to me why the USA has the worst cell network in any developed country)
Antibiotics
The first jet airliner, first commercial nuclear reactor and first stored program computer were all "innovated" within a day's walk of each other, but nowhere near the USA.
DNA wasn't discovered by the USA, nor was the first test tube baby American.
The iPhone and iPads were designed by a Brit but Intelligent Design is as far as I am aware an American innovation, be proud of that....

Lots of things are of course American originated, not all as dumb as Televangelism.

 

[Georgina]

Yes, there are things that were not invented in America, but I think, those things on your list, were not invented in Asia, either. My point was - that there might be high test scores in Asia, yet this does not turn into innovation.

Also, although I'm not an American-born, I think, this is an insult to American-born people (and to other American citizens) that people with H1B visa, or as a student, come to this country, badmouth America, call Americans dumb, and they think, without them, this country cannot even function. There is a very serious problem here, as more and more middle class Americans loosing their jobs, and not in a fair competition. Many IT professionals are forced to train people with H1-B visas (many of them are from India, and not one of them with ONE year IT experience, but they just lie on their resume), and after that, Americans get fired. There are studies that an American worker 5x more productive than a foreigner (through outsourcing, or "insourcing").

The labor shortage in skilled science professionals in America is not true - the reason for this is to bring cheap labor. (I have read an article that there is about 36,000 people with science PhD, yet only about 18,000 jobs at American universities.)
Don't believe me, I'm just a stupid woman, and I guess, this forum is just meant for "smart" men, who think that because they took 10 zillion classes in math and physics, they can become quant, and "make big money" in finance - and the world is just waiting for them. (But if you're interested, you can find out the truth about this topic yourself.)

 

[bullion]

Yes, there are things that were not invented in America, but I think, those things on your list, were not invented in Asia, either. My point was - that there might be high test scores in Asia, yet this does not turn into innovation.

True.

Also, although I'm not an American-born, I think, this is an insult to American-born people (and to other American citizens) that people with H1B visa, or as a student, come to this country, badmouth America, call Americans dumb, and they think, without them, this country cannot even function. There is a very serious problem here, as more and more middle class Americans loosing their jobs, and not in a fair competition. Many IT professionals are forced to train people with H1-B visas (many of them are from India, and not one of them with ONE year IT experience, but they just lie on their resume), and after that, Americans get fired. There are studies that an American worker 5x more productive than a foreigner (through outsourcing, or "insourcing").

Don't turn this into a nationalist debate. Our nation is multicultural in nature, and I fully accept the fact that I must compete globally as an American. If an Indian guy can do my job with the same quality for cheaper, than it is MY fault. On average, American workers are more productive than foreigners IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES (due to lack of proper equipments/training oversea). I dare you finding any report citing production superiority of American-born workers over foreign-born workers in American companies. As long as the foreign-borns are pulling equal weights, they deserve their jobs.

The labor shortage in skilled science professionals in America is not true - the reason for this is to bring cheap labor. (I have read an article that there is about 36,000 people with science PhD, yet only about 18,000 jobs at American universities.)

Have you actually done engineering? Most job in engineering are maintenance work that requires people getting their hands dirty. Yet so many PhDs feel they are entitled to office jobs. When we simply don't need so many college professors but need printer technicians, these PhDs become virtually useless. The labor MARKET is determined by demands, not fancy titles.

Don't believe me, I'm just a stupid woman, and I guess, this forum is just meant for "smart" men, who think that because they took 10 zillion classes in math and physics, they can become quant, and "make big money" in finance - and the world is just waiting for them. (But if you're interested, you can find out the truth about this topic yourself.)

Women aren't stupid. This forum is meant for anyone who care to base their arguments on statistics, logic, and historical facts instead of hearseys (my friend said... I read an article) and senseless accusations (no innovation in Asia). I grew up in the States, worked in the States, and I applied to MFEs precisely because I feared my skills are no longer competitive globally. The capitalist system making the US competitive is extremely cutthroat. If you don't share the same spirit and courage answering new challenges/threats from oversea competitors like the founders of this country, move to communist countries so you can free-load on other people.

 

[mfegrad]

bullion

first, let's get it out of the way. your snide asides and condescension are not only misplaced, but they're also extremely rude. you really should try getting through a paragraph without an "if you were well-read" or an "i know it might be hard for you to understand." stuff like that doesn't fly so well in the real world.

Well, Chinese students/workers from top US schools are "defecting" back to China cuz deteriorating economy conditions. And we sent plenty of field agents oversea to steal military intel/private information from other countries/corporations.

Well, the actions seem very similar to me. My point is that we really aren't that high and mighty if you check our history.

you're changing the argument here. i thought i had made it clear i was speaking of govt-backed cyber theft, not students. even if we were talking about chinese nationals moving home with education/skills they've acquired here, that's a far cry from scientists leaving nazi germany. sure, the us has done things in the past that aren't on the up and up, but to compare the us to nazi germany...your moral relativism is sickening.

Business is about adaptation, survival, and elimination. There's no universal standard for what good business practices constitute simply due to diversity in culture and history (I know it might be hard for you to undersand, but the US isn't the only country on earth). Google might sit high and mighty and leave the Chinese market completely, but they also have to accept the consequence of losing a large proportion of the global marketing revenue to Baidu and the potential impact of that decision to their bottomline.

and yet you later post: "The capitalist system making the US competitive is extremely cutthroat. If you don't share the same spirit and courage answering new challenges/threats from oversea competitors like the founders of this country, move to communist countries so you can free-load on other people."

so on the one hand, you're encouraging the chinese stealing american r&d, while you're deriding free-riding on the other. this is logically flawed.

If you've ever actually studied the history of IP laws, you would realize that IP laws are results of tug of war between US companies. It is hardly an universal concept with tons of hidden exemptions between the lines (in comparison to crimes like murder which has like one line, "murder is bad.") The point is that American IP laws were shaped up in favor of American companies, but these laws often result in blocking patents that hinder R&D in developing countries. So it should be no surprise that foreign governments in developing countries are often reluctant toward enforcing IP regulations from developed nations.

do you see how asinine that first comment is? do you know definitively whether or not i've studied ip law? or are these rhetorical flourishes simply made to make you feel better about yourself? i mean, i could understand it (hypothetically, of course) if i were an ignoramus, but it just makes you sound douche-y.

and there's a difference between enforcing ip laws (cracking down on pirated microsoft operating systems) and state-encouraged theft.

For developed nations like Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, however, there are plenty cases against American corporations for IP infringements, and many foreign companies cry foul when American courts rule disproportionally in favor of American defendents. And yes foreign companies do spend on R&D out of the desire to beat their American competitors with tremendous successes (ever looked at.... Toyota's?) China is simply in a transitional period that has yet found benefits (to its citizens) for enforcing American IP laws. When they have a big enough IP repository that need protection from American piracy, then reciprocal protection/enforcement will ensue.

again, you're dodging the issue at hand: state-sponsored ip theft.


on another note, best of luck in getting into an mfe program, completing it, and landing a full-time gig. you should be sure to tell the company representatives you meet your views on bribing local officials and ip theft, as i'm sure those views are widely espoused.