Hanson Hosein from the University of Washington interviews Margaret O'Mara, a history professor at the same university about what really created Silicon Valley. This is a very interesting interview that gives you some perspective on how creativity and innovation are encouraged and nurtured over time. It really does take a village to establish a supportive environment for something like the Silicon Valley; it doesn’t just happen by an “invisible hand”. Somehow this message is not coming across American culture though. Americans are known for their lack of historical perspective, and the prevailing myth is still that of Horatio Alger’s: you alone are responsible for your own success (or failure), and government should stay out of the business of business.
According to a recent report by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee
the Federal government provided 57% of all funding for basic research in the United States in 2008, and the study concluded that the funding should be doubled to be sufficient. This is easy to understand when you think about the risk associated with basic research - businesses cannot afford to invest as much in research that may not produce commercially viable results.
Margaret O’Mara’s interview prompted me to think about Richard Florida’s book “The Rise of the Creative Class”.
Florida examines what it takes for one region to draw a creative work force versus another that loses its most creative, dynamic population. He posits that geography is more important than ever in attracting highly educated and highly skilled people to “places that are centers of creativity and also where they like to live”, such as Seattle, San Francisco Bay Area or Austin. These places are “multidimensional and diverse” and they also offer lots of choice in recreation and other activities. To top it off these locations are also known for high quality universities and hight tech jobs.
The United States needs to continue funding university research and partner with businesses in creative ways to be able to compete with other rising (technology) powers.
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