the.world.is.flat-第66部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完，想下次继续接着阅读，可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能！

〃inside…the…Beltway　science　（lobbying）　has　always　been　insatiable。　If　you　double　the　
NIH　（National　Institutes　of　Health）　budget　in　five　years　（as　recently　happened）；　
they're　（still）　screaming　their　heads　off：　'We　need　more　money。'〃　Greenberg　also　
questioned　the　science　lobbyists'　interpretation　of　a　number　of　statistics。　
Quoting　Greenberg；　the　Chronicle　said；　〃To　put　scientific　publishing　trends　in　
context。　。　。　it's　important　to　look　not　only　at　overall　percentiles　but　also　at　the　
actual　numbers　of　published　papers。　At　first；　it　may　sound　startling　to　hear　that　
China　quadrupled　its　scientific　publication　rate　between　1986　and　1999。　But　it　sounds　
somewhat　less　startling　if　one　real

izes　that　the　actual　number　of　Chinese　papers　published　rose　from　2；911　to　11；675。　
By　comparison；　close　to　a　third　of　all　the　world's　scientific　papers　were　published　
by　Americans…163；526　out　of　528；643。　In　other　words；　China；　a　nation　with　almost　four　
times　the　population　of　the　United　States；　published　（as　of　1999）　only　one…fourteenth　
as　many　scientific　papers　as　the　United　States。〃　
While　I　think　a　dose　of　skepticism　is　always　in　order；　I　also　think　the　skeptics　would　
be　wise　to　pay　more　heed　to　the　flattening　of　the　world　and　how　quickly　some　of　these　
trends　could　change。　It　is　why　I　favor　Shirley　Ann　Jackson's　approach：　The　sky　is　
not　falling　today；　but　it　might　be　in　fifteen　or　twenty　years　if　we　don't　change　our　
ways；　and　all　signs　are　that　we　are　not　changing；　especially　in　our　public　schools。　
Help　is　not　on　the　way。　The　American　education　system　from　kindergarten　through　
twelfth　grade　just　is　not　stimulating　enough　young　people　to　want　to　go　into　science；　
math；　and　engineering。　My　wife　teaches　first…grade　reading　in　a　local　public　school；　
so　she　gets　Education　Week；　which　is　read　by　educators　all　over　America。　One　day　she　
pointed　out　an　article　（July　28；　2004）　headlined；　〃Immigrants'　Children　Inhabit　the　
Top　Ranks　of　Math；　Science　Meets。〃　
It　went　on　to　say；　〃Research　conducted　by　the　National　Foundation　for　American　Policy　
shows　that　60　percent　of　the　nation's　top　science　students　and　65　percent　of　the　top　
mathematics　students　are　children　of　recent　immigrants；　according　to　an　analysis　of　
award　winners　in　three　scholastic　competitions。　。　。　the　Intel　Science　Talent　Search；　
the　U。S。　team　for　the　International　Mathematical　Olympiad；　and　theU。S。　Physics　Team。〃　
The　study's　author　attributed　the　immigrant　students'　success　〃partly　to　their　
parents'　insistence　that　they　manage　study　time　wisely；〃　Education　Week　said。　〃Many　
immigrant　parents　also　encouraged　their　children　to　pursue　mathematics　and　science　
interests；　believing　those　skills　would　lead　to　strong　career　opportunities　and　
insulate　them　from　bias　and　lack　of　connections　in　the　workplace　。。。　A　strong　


percentage　of　the　students　surveyed　had　parents　who　arrived　in　the　United　States　on　
H…1B　visas；　reserved　for　professional　workers。　U。S。　policymakers　who　back　overly　
restrictive　immigration　policies　do　so　at　the　risk　of　cutting　off　a　steady　infusion　
of　technological　and　scientific　skill；〃　said　the　study's　au271　
thor；　Stuart　Anderson；　the　executive　director　of　the　foundation。　The　article　quoted　
Andrei　Munteanu；　eighteen；　a　finalist　for　the　2004　Intel　competition；　whose　parents　
had　moved　from　Romania　to　the　United　States　five　years　earlier。　Munteanu　started　
American　school　in　the　seventh　grade；　which　he　found　a　breeze　compared　to　his　Romanian　
school。　〃The　math　and　science　classes　＇covered　the　same　subject　matter＇　I　was　taking　
in　Romania　。　。　。　when　I　was　in　fourth　grade；〃　he　said。　
For　now；　the　United　States　still　excels　at　teaching　science　and　engineering　at　the　
graduate　level；　and　also　in　university…based　research。　But　as　the　Chinese　get　more　
feeder　stock　coming　up　through　their　improving　high　schools　and　universities；　〃they　
will　get　to　the　same　level　as　us　after　a　decade；〃　said　Intel　chairman　Barrett。　〃We　
are　not　graduating　the　volume；　we　do　not　have　a　lock　on　the　infrastructure；　we　do　
not　have　a　lock　on　the　new　ideas；　and　we　are　either　flatlining；　or　in　real　dollars　
cutting　back；　our　investments　in　physical　science。〃　
Every　four　years　the　United　States　takes　part　in　the　Trends　in　International　
Mathematics　and　Science　Study；　which　assesses　students　after　fourth　grade　and　eighth　
grade。　Altogether；　the　most　recent　study　involved　roughly　a　half　million　students　
from　forty…one　countries　and　the　use　of　thirty　languages；　making　it　the　largest　and　
most　comprehensive　international　study　of　education　that　has　ever　been　undertaken。　
The　2004　results　（for　tests　taken　in　2003）　showed　American　students　making　only　
marginal　improvements　over　the　2000　results；　which　showed　the　American　labor　force　
to　be　weaker　in　science　than　those　of　its　peer　countries。　The　Associated　Press　reported　
（December　4；2004）　that　American　eighth…graders　had　improved　their　scores　in　science　
and　math　since　1995；　when　the　test　first　was　given；　but　their　math　improvement　came　
mainly　between　1995　and　1999；　and　not　in　recent　years。　The　rising　scores　of　American　
eighth…graders　in　science　was　an　improvement　over　1999；　and　it　lifted　the　United　
States　to　a　higher　ranking　relative　to　other　countries。　The　worrying　news；　though；　
was　that　the　scores　of　American　fourth…graders　were　stagnant；　neither　improving　nor　
declining　in　science　or　math　since　1995。　As　a　result；　they　slipped　in　the　international　
rankings　as　other　countries　made　gains。　〃Asian　countries　are　setting　the　pace　in　
advanced　science　and　math；〃　Ina　Mullis；　codirector　of　the　International　
272　
Study　Center　at　Boston　College；　which　manages　the　study；　told　the　AP。　〃As　one　example；　
44　percent　of　eighth…graders　in　Singapore　scored　at　the　most　advanced　level　in　math；　
as　did　38　percent　in　Taiwan。　Only　7　percent　in　the　United　States　did。〃　Results　from　
another　international　education　test　also　came　out　in　December　2004；　from　the　Program　
for　International　Student　Assessment。　It　showed　that　American　fifteen…year…olds　are　
below　the　international　average　when　it　comes　to　applying　math　skills　to　real…life　
tasks。　
No　wonder　Johns　Hopkins　University　president　Bill　Brody　remarked　to　me；　〃Over　60　


percent　of　our　graduate　students　in　the　sciences　are　foreign　students；　and　mostly　
from　Asia。　At　one　point　four　years　ago　all　of　our　graduate　students　in　mathematics　
were　from　the　PRC　＇Communist　China＇。　I　only　found　out　about　it　because　we　use　them　
as　＇teaching　assistants＇　and　some　of　them　don't　speak　English　all　that　well。〃　A　Johns　
Hopkins　parent　wrote　Brody　to　complain　that　his　son　could　not　understand　his　calculus　
professor　because　of　his　heavy　Chinese　accent　and　poor　English。　
No　wonder　there　is　not　a　major　company　that　I　interviewed　for　this　book　that　is　not　
investing　significantly　in　research　and　development　abroad。　It　is　not　〃follow　the　
money。〃　It　is　〃follow　the　brains。〃　
〃Science　and　math　are　the　universal　language　of　technology；〃　said　Tracy　Koon；　Intel's　
director　of　corporate　affairs；　who　oversees　the　company's　efforts　to　improve　science　
education。　〃They　drive　technology　and　our　standards　of　living。　Unless　our　kids　grow　
up　knowing　that　universal　language；　they　will　not　be　able　to　compete。　We　are　not　in　
the　business　of　manufacturing　somewhere　else。　This　is　a　company　that　was　founded　here；　
but　we　have　two　raw　materials…sand；　which　we　have　a　ready　supply　of；　and　talent；　which　
we　don't。〃　（Silicon　comes　from　sand。）　
〃We　looked　at　two　things；〃　she　continued。　〃We　looked　at　the　fact　that　in　disciplines　
that　were　relevant　to　our　industry；　the　number　of　U。S。　students　graduating　at　the　
master's　and　Ph。D。　levels　was　declining　in　absolute　numbers　and　relative　to　other　
countries。　In　our　K　to　twelve　we　were　doing　okay　at　the　fourth…grade　level；　we　were　
doing　middle…of…the…road　in　the　eighth　grade；　and　by　the　twelfth　grade　we　were　
hovering　near　the　bot…　

torn　in　international　tests　related　to　math。　So　the　longer　kids　were　in　school；　the　
dumber　they　were　getting　。　。　。　You　have　teachers　turning　off　kids　because　they　were　
not　trained。　You　know　the　old　saw　about　the　football　coach　teaching　science…people　
who　do　not　have　the　ability　to　make　this　accessible　and　gripping　for　kids。〃　
One　of　the　problems　in　remedying　the　situation；　said　Koon；　is　the　fact　that　education　
in　America　is　relatively　decentralized　and　fragmented。　If　Intel　goes　to　India　or　China　
or　Jordan　and　introduces　a　teacher　education　program　for　making　science　more　
interesting；　it　can　get　into　schools　all　over　the　country　at　once。　In　America；　the　
public　schools　are　overseen　by　fifty　different　state　governments。　While　Intel　does　
sponsor　research　atthe　university　level　that　will　benefitits　own　product　development；　
it　is　growing　increasingly　concerned　about　the　feeder　system　into　those　universities　
and　the　job　market。　
〃Have　we　seen　any　change　here？　No；　not　really；〃　said　Koon。　So　Intel　has　been　lobbying　
the　INS　for　an　increase　in　the　number　of　advanced　foreign　engineers　allowed　into　the　
United　States　on　temporary　work　visas。　〃When　we　look　at　the　kinds　of　people　that　we　
are　trying　to　hire　here…the　master's　and　Ph。D。　levels　in　photonics　and　optics　
eng