Kina har gjennomført sin første "spacewalk" i egenprodusert romdrakt

[HP]

Jeg følger visst ikke nok med, for jeg visste ikke at dette var Kinas tredje bemannede romferd (første i 2003, så 2005).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008...ceexploration1

(PS, dette er ikke satire)

[m^2]

Kina er virkelig en stormakt å regne med etterhvert i romfart Det skal bli utrolig spennende å følge med på hva de utretter videre.

NASAs sjef Michael Griffin sa forresten følgende i en tale nylig. Det kan forklare mye av Kinas suksess, og burde være et tankekors for både USA og Europa (burde kanskje laget egen tråd men det passet så bra her):

There are half as many bachelor's degrees in physics awarded today in the United States than when Sputnik was launched in 1957. The number of engineers graduating with bachelor's degrees declined by over 20% in the last two decades prior to a recent up-tick - but that up-tick is primarily due to an increase in the number of foreign students, who are increasingly returning to their home countries. In 2004, China graduated approximately 500,000 engineers while India graduated 200,000 and the United States graduated 70,000. In 2005, the United States produced more undergraduates in sports exercise than in electrical engineering. In 2006, only 15% of college graduates in the United States received a diploma in engineering or the natural sciences, compared to 38% in South Korea, 47% in France, and 67% in Singapore. The number of PhDs in engineering awarded by U.S. universities to U.S. citizens declined 34% in a single decade. Two-thirds of U.S. engineering PhDs are awarded to foreign nationals. In some surveys, U.S. public schools consistently rank near the bottom in mathematics and science as compared to their global counterparts. We are surpassed by, among others, Azerbaijan, Latvia and Macao.

If we do not reverse these trends, other countries will surpass the United States in scientific and technical acumen. This will affect our country in arenas well beyond space exploration. It will undermine our ability to compete in the global marketplace.

[HP]

Utdanning er nok den avgjørende faktoren, ja.

Friedmans "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century" som handler om globalisering gjør et godt poeng (fritt etter hukommelsen): "Når jeg var liten sa mor at jeg måtte spise opp maten min fordi barn sultet i Kina, nå sier jeg til barna mine at de må gjøre leksene sine fordi barn i Kina vil ha jobben (og skoleplassen) deres".

EDIT: Riktig sitat:

Sitat:

When I was growing up, my parents used to say to me: ''Finish your dinner -- people in China are starving.'' I, by contrast, find myself wanting to say to my daughters: ''Finish your homework -- people in China and India are starving for your job.''

Kilde: Doing Our Homework (NY Times).