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TI: When you think about the world as we're talking about this, are there some other countries that you look out and see and says, "They're going to be a leader in twenty years because of what they're doing today in terms of looking ahead, especially in the area of innovation. They're going to become a really strong player or leader in the future." Do you see any countries like that?

SA: I think innovation goes in waves in every country. Japan went through a tremendous innovation period and they peaked out and they went into a recession. And the recession was bad because it lasted so long that it almost changed the lifestyle of the people. South Korea has gone through a real steep rise in innovation. Look at Samsung and Hyundai, they're premier, world class companies now. But they're gonna... you've got to remember there's an age demographic change, both of those countries the (younger) age group is coming down. One advantage the U.S. has is immigration. We're bringing in new people into this country, younger people, that helps.

TI: Is that through, because of our university system or is it just through natural immigration you're talking about?

SA: Both. It's sort of interesting, I've spent some time with some people from India, engineers from India. And we talked about immigration, the type of people that immigrate into this country, all very smart, university-trained engineers came to this country. And he said, you know, it's interesting because when the Europeans -- and India is specifically British -- went back to their country, they brought the servants with them. So the migration from India, the servants went to Europe, the university grads came to this country.

TI: Oh, interesting.

SA: You look at what's happening today with terrorism, they are the outgrowth, the youth from that.

TI: From that migration.

SA: Yes, yes.

TI: Interesting. Because they essentially went there as servants or indentured servants.

SA: And the next generation couldn't get anywhere.

TI: And resented that.

SA: And they resent what happened.

TI: Versus here, you're saying they came as college-educated, many of them started companies, and so it's very different.

SA: That's right. And so they were able to succeed in their endeavor in this country. So that was an interesting correlation that he made for me, because it was very revealing. I mean, it's not saying one was right or wrong...

TI: It's just what happened.

SA: That's what happened. Now, are you gonna have another wave again with this new movement that's occurring?

<End Segment 7> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.