Friday, August 19, 2005

What's the difference between the US and Taiwan: it's right here, baby

E-Taiwan News reports on New Sci-Tech programs:

Planning for the society's needs by 2020, the National Science Council (國科會) is also envisioning a multi-disciplinary approach towards "people-oriented strategic technologies" to create a better living environment in the coming decades.According to NSC vice minister Chi Guo-chung (紀國鐘), Taiwan's public and private sectors must come together to develop national health infrastructure, biomedical services, biosensor devices, and pharmaceutical products to meet the needs of the increasing senior citizen population in 2020, while the public is also demanding improved standards of living for their family and children.

Chi indicated that the NSC will seek to gear sci-tech development more toward serving people's lifestyle needs and supporting core values, in the four major long-term 15-20 year R&D programs - Super "Human" Senses (biomedical devices and biosensory-robotic implants), E-Health, Smart Living Spaces, and Energy & Environment.

Meanwhile, what does our President do? Push Creationism and Intelligent Design. Taking our nation forward to the 14th century! Such programs as the one outlined above are staples of government behavior here, and Taiwan will probably not actually do any of this -- anyone remember the vanished-without-a-trace APROC program? But it is instructive to view the obscurantism and IDiocy of our Dear Leader, and his supporters' dream of a 14th century theocratic state, compared to the technoscientific dreams of the Asian world. When I think of all the economic and scientific growth that could have been supported by the $300 billion we've burnt in Iraq.........

1 comment:

Mark said...

You know, there was a group pushing "intelligent design" on campus back when I was in college. I just laughed at them. Now that they've gained so much traction in other parts of the country it isn't so funny anymore. Until about 5 years ago, I just couldn't have imagined the idea of an educated, otherwise rational person attacking evolution so strongly.

I thought that argument was over 80 years ago, but it looks like it's just heating up. :(