Michio Kaku: The Secret Weapon of American Science | Big Think

Michio Kaku: The Secret Weapon of American Science
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It’s foreign-born scientists that keep the U.S. winning all those Nobel Prizes. But we can’t rely on their superior education forever.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MICHIO KAKU:

Dr. Michio Kaku is the co-founder of string field theory, and is one of the most widely recognized scientists in the world today. He has written 4 New York Times Best Sellers, is the science correspondent for CBS This Morning and has hosted numerous science specials for BBC-TV, the Discovery/Science Channel. His radio show broadcasts to 100 radio stations every week. Dr. Kaku holds the Henry Semat Chair and Professorship in theoretical physics at the City College of New York (CUNY), where he has taught for over 25 years. He has also been a visiting professor at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, as well as New York University (NYU).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIPT:

Question: Will U.S. science education ever improve?

Michio Kaku: Unfortunately, I'm rather pessimistic about the way we teach science. And some people ask me a simple question. They are visitors from overseas. And they say that, "Wow, America has so many Nobel laureates, but it has one of the worst education programs known to science." This is measurable. Our kids scored dead last of all the other developed nations. And our students ranked actually a little bit below the students of Jordan in science and math tests.

So my friends from overseas ask a simple question. Why doesn't America collapse? I mean, where do all these Nobel laureates come from, and these innovations come from that we see coming from Silicone Valley? Well, America has several secret weapons that most nations have never heard of. First of all, our secret weapon, the weapon that keeps us at the forefront of innovation and scientific progress and high tech, is the H1B. That is our secret weapon that most nations and people have never heard of. The H1B is the genius visa. You are "a genius," a PhD, you have wealth, you're an established figure, zoom you go right into the United States to energize Silicon Valley, which is 50% foreign born. Yes, you see Bill Gates. Yes, you see Steve Jobs out there, but 50% of the **** scientists behind Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are foreign-born. There's a brain drain. A tremendous brain drain into the United States. The top talent comes here. This is where innovation takes place and is rewarded financially.

But there are other reasons why America does catch up. First of all, America does "see the genius in the classroom." The young Bill Gates, the young Steve Jobs, the young Albert Einstein. These people **** because in the East there is an expression, "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down." In the East there is this Confucian tradition that you're not supposed to make your peers look bad by excelling and trying to achieve something beyond their abilities. However, in the West, we have another saying, and that is, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." So, the innovators, the real imaginative thinkers, they are rewarded in the American system, while in the East they are hammered down. And third, our college system is not so bad. Even though our high school system graduates generations of near-illiterate students, by the time they hit college, then that's when they begin to accelerate. That's when they begin to get up to speed.

But you know, we cannot sustain our scientific establishment this way. We cannot continue to depend on foreign scientists. We cannot continue to depend on the genius that may or may not arise, and we certainly cannot depend on college being a remedial high school.

[mahino]

this is so true, 1 egyptian scientist who was rewarded a noble was not able to continue his research in egypt and america offered him a team and funding for his project and it helped him.

[billiondollarbull]

I live in Indonesia. My friend went to American for this exchange student program. I was classmates with him in 9th grade and he was in the bottom 5 of the class. He almost got held back in 10th grade. He said that he gets straight A's now and he never studies anymore and he always sleeps in class. He said 12th grade in america is comparable to 8th grade in Indonesia.

[Tigerbeetweenie]

You kick ass. I am a teenager aspiring to be a computer scientist and even though your a physicist, I still look up to you. Your show is very intriguing and I love how you ask and create solutions for "the big questions". Oh, and keep on rockin' that sweet hair bro.

[berglundo]

I could listen to this guy for hours, he makes even to most weird things make sense and makes it sound easy.

[JakeJohnRogers]

I love how in so many of these videos this man is talking about topics that he doesn't even specialize, biology, neuroscience and computing. If there was a way to win the intellectual part of life, this man has done it.

[mrautistic]

This is the first 100% truth speech I've heard from him.  He is a great analyzer in this subject (regulation of science).

[shrap]

that is so true! I am in college, and Ive been learning everything that I should have learned while growing up in middle/high school.

[RoldanRoro]

You're the new generation's Einstein in my book!

[tycoon]

Man, michio you could not be more right!
I agree people who work hard and are smart flourish in america and thats why foreigners flock here!

[RBMusicCH]

What I have noticed in the US during my 2 year assignment, there is a strong polarisation between educated and uneducated. Also educated people are often ridiculed as "nerdy, geeky etc" and "not commercially presentable". It seems like looks and an assertive "commercial" way of speaking counts more than brains and talking sense. Pragmatism is often interpreted as bad attitude or inability to comply to common thinking, even if the so-called common sense is objectively utter nonsense.

[ImperiumTrooper]

Michio gave away our secret weapon!!!!

[richardmg]

Hell yea, finally a voice of reason on the internet! The world needs more sweat shops!

[AntonFetzer]

2:00 the young Albert Einstein did not live in the US. He went to the US after he had become famous.
This means he is part of the first point Kaku said about the braindrain the US inflicts on Europe.

[piratebri]

I hated science and math growing up. But I loved space and technology. I started following Michio Kaku a few years ago and he has made me love science and math. I wish our education system made kids care about science, math, and technology more and not just about being on the Varsity football team, Cheerleading Squad, or Glee Club.

Our educational system, political system, and financial system all need to be revamped. They clearly are not working and its only a matter of time..

[EuphoriaX]

That Just shows you how much our public school systems need to change.. It's hard to learn a lot when it feels like you have the same English, Math, Reading, and History class for literally 6-8 years... High schools should be more like colleges and allow more focused groups so that when they graduate high school, they can immediately be useful to our community and economy. 

[olanmills]

I think he hit the nail on the head, which is that despite whatever problems we have, we still have one of the best natural, economic, and political environments for enabling and encouraging innovation.

It may be dangerous to disagree with Mr. Kaku, but I think we actually can sustain it for a long time. As he explained the American economy demands smart people whether they come from outside or within. That's not an excuse to not improve our education.

[andykay]

I thought Kentucky Fried Chicken was the secret weapon of American Science

[CerulianSamurai]

That's how I like to view life as well, having fun, and having a sense of well-being.

But, I'm sure you guys can do it as well. I'm also British from my fathers side but was born in the US.

[zantoine]

Can't... stop....watching...these videos

[ravishverma]

i agree with that and also think that consumerism should be added to it because we give so many opportunities to create in the US because there is someone out there that will buy ur product no matter how useless or excessive