First the Science, then the Tech, then the $$
"The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom." – Isaac Asimov
"Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" – Ibid.
First the Science, then the Technology, then the Dollars, then the Domination: America might be slipping from its place as the world's leader of scientific research. It's spending half a trillion dollars annually on research, but China is barreling into second place fast and is actually poised to surpass the US by the end of 2018. Under the Trump administration, unfortunately, many US researchers say their work has been devalued and threatened by budget cuts. And stricter immigration policies are threatening opportunities for collaboration between US and Chinese researchers. Recent restrictions on H-1B visas sent a message to Chinese graduate students that "it's time to go home when you finish your degree." Some believe the White House, without a science adviser for more than a year, lacks scientific leadership.
Conversely, opportunities for scientists in China are flourishing. In 2016 its annual scientific publications outnumbered those from the US for the first time. China has 202 of the world's 500 most powerful supercomputers, 60 more systems than are in the US. It has the largest radio telescope ever built. In 2017, biologists in China became the first to successfully clone a primate. Xi's government has invested in scientific endeavors for strategic advantage as well as boasting rights. It spends more on infrastructure than the US or Europe, and its middle class has burgeoned, making relocation attractive to foreigners.
A Spanish geneticist, who came to America to supercharge his career at Yale University, began struggling to renew his visa. Eventually, he left his Ivy-League research position to move to China. The perks were hard to resist — a lucrative signing bonus, guaranteed research funding, ample tech staff and the chance to build a genetics research center from scratch. "More and more people keep coming, that's for sure," he said. "Right now, China is the best place in the world to start your own laboratory."
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