the.world.is.flat-第62节

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automatically　do　the　same　in　the　next　

fifty。　An　African…American　woman；　Jackson　was　born　in　Washington；　D。C。；　in　1946。　She　
started　kindergarten　in　a　segregated　public　school　but　was　one　of　the　first　public　
school　students　to　benefit　from　desegregation；　as　a　result　of　the　Supreme　Court　ruling　
in　Brown　v。　Board　of　Education。　Just　when　she　was　getting　a　chance　to　go　to　a　better　
school；　theRussians　launched　Sputnik　in1957；　and　theU。S。　government　became　obsessed　
with　educating　young　people　to　become　scientists　and　engineers；　a　trend　that　was　
intensified　by　John　F。　Kennedy's　commitment　to　a　manned　space　program。　When　Kennedy　
spoke　about　putting　a　man　on　the　moon；　Shirley　Ann　Jackson　was　one　of　the　millions　
of　American　young　people　who　were　listening。　His　words；　she　recalled；　〃inspired；　
assisted；　and　launched　many　of　my　generation　into　science；　engineering　and　
mathematics；〃　and　the　breakthroughs　and　inventions　they　spawned　went　well　beyond　the　
space　program。　〃The　space　race　was　really　a　science　race；〃　she　said。　
Thanks　in　part　to　desegregation；　both　Jackson's　inspiration　and　intellect　were　
recognized　early；　and　she　ultimately　became　the　first　African…American　woman　to　earn　
a　Ph。D。　in　physics　from　MIT　（her　degree　was　in　theoretical　elementary　particle　
physics）。　From　there；　she　spent　many　years　working　for　AT&T　Bell　Laboratories；　and　
in　1995　was　appointed　by　President　Clinton　to　chair　the　U。S。　Nuclear　Regulatory　
Commission。　
As　the　years　went　by；　though；　Jackson　began　to　notice　that　fewer　and　fewer　young　
Americans　were　captivated　by　national　challenges　like　the　race　to　the　moon；　or　felt　
the　allure　of　math；　science；　and　engineering。　In　universities；　she　noted；　graduate　
enrollment　in　science　and　engineering　programs；　having　grown　for　decades；　peaked　in　


1993；　and　despite　some　recent　progress；　it　remains　today　below　the　level　of　a　decade　
ago。　So　the　science　and　engineering　generations　that　followed　Jackson's　got　smaller　
and　smaller　relative　to　our　needs。　By　the　time　Jackson　took　the　job　as　Rensselaer　
Polytechnic's　president　to　put　her　heart　and　soul　into　reinvig…orating　American　
science　and　engineering；　she　realized；　she　said；　that　a　〃perfect　storm〃　was　
brewing…one　that　posed　a　real　long…term　danger　to　America's　economic　health…and　she　
started　speaking　out　about　it　whenever　she　could。　
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〃The　phrase　'the　perfect　storm'　is　associated　with　meteorological　events　in　October　
1991；〃　said　Jackson　in　a　speech　in　May　2004；　when　〃a　powerful　weather　system　gathered　
force；　ravaging　the　Atlantic　Ocean　over　the　course　of　several　days；　＇and＇　caused　the　
deaths　of　several　Massachusetts…based　fishermen　and　billions　of　dollars　of　damage。　
The　event　became　a　book；　and；　later；　a　movie。　Meteorologists　observing　the　event　
emphasized　。　。　。　the　unlikely　confluence　of　conditions。。。　in　which　multiple　factors　
converged　to　bring　about　an　event　of　devastating　magnitude。　＇A＇　similar　worst…case　
scenario　could　arrest　the　progress　of　our　national　scientific　and　technological　
capacity。　The　forces　at　work　are　multiple　and　complex。　They　are　demographic；　political；　
economic；　cultural；　even　social。〃　Individually；　each　of　these　forces　would　be　
problematic；　added　Jackson。　In　combination；　they　could　be　devastating。　〃For　the　first　
time　in　more　than　a　century；　the　United　States　could　well　find　itself　falling　behind　
other　countries　in　the　capacity　for　scientific　discovery；　innovation　and　economic　
development。〃　
The　way　to　avoid　being　caught　in　such　a　storm　is　to　identify　the　confluence　of　factors　
and　to　change　course…even　though　right　now　the　sky　is　blue；　the　winds　are　gentle；　
and　the　water　seems　calm。　But　that　is　not　what　has　been　going　on　in　America　in　recent　
years。　We　are　blithely　sailing　along；　heading　straight　for　the　storm；　with　both　
politicians　and　parents　insisting　that　no　dramatic　changes　or　sacrifices　are　required　
now。　After　all；　look　how　calm　and　sunny　it　is　outside；　they　tell　us。　In　the　fiscal　
year　2005　budget　passed　by　the　Republican…led　Congress　in　November　2004；　the　budget　
for　the　National　Science　Foundation；　which　is　the　federal　body　most　responsible　for　
promoting　research　and　funding　more　and　better　science　education；　was　actually　cut　
by　1。9　percent；　or　105　million。　History　will　show　that　when　America　should　have　been　
doubling　the　NSF　funding；　its　Congress　passed　a　pork…laden　budget　that　actually　cut　
assistance　for　science　and　engineering。　
Don't　be　fooled　by　the　calm。　That's　always　the　time　to　change　course…not　when　you're　
just　about　to　get　hit　by　the　typhoon。　We　don't　have　any　time　to　waste　in　addressing　
the　〃dirty　little　secrets〃　of　our　education　system。　
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Dirty　Little　Secret　#1：　The　Numbers　Gap　
In　the　Cold　War；　one　of　the　deepest　causes　of　American　worries　was　the　so…called　
missile　gap　between　us　and　the　Soviet　Union。　The　perfect　storm　Shirley　Ann　Jackson　
is　warning　about　could　best　be　described　as　the　confluence　of　three　new　gaps　that　
have　been　slowly　emerging　to　sap　America's　prowess　in　science；　math；　and　engineering。　
They　are　the　numbers　gap；　the　ambition　gap；　and　the　education　gap。　Inthe　Age　of　Flatism；　


these　gaps　are　what　most　threaten　our　standard　of　living。　
Dirty　little　secret　number　one　is　that　the　generation　of　scientists　and　engineers　
who　were　motivated　to　go　into　science　by　the　threat　of　Sputnik　in　1957　and　the　
inspiration　of　JFK　are　reaching　their　retirement　years　and　are　not　being　replaced　
in　the　numbers　that　they　must　be　if　an　advanced　economy　like　that　of　the　United　States　
is　to　remain　at　the　head　of　the　pack。　According　to　the　National　Science　Foundation；　
half　of　America's　scientists　and　engineers　are　forty　years　or　older；　and　the　average　
age　is　steadily　rising。　
Just　take　one　example…NASA。　An　analysis　of　NASA　records　conducted　by　the　newspaper　
Florida　Today　（March　7；　2004）；　which　covers　the　Kennedy　Space　Center；　showed　the　
following：　Nearly　40　percent　of　the　18；146　people　at　NASA　are　age　fifty　or　older。　
Those　with　twenty　years　of　government　service　are　eligible　for　early　retirement。　
Twenty…two　percent　of　NASA　workers　are　fifty…five　or　older。　NASA　employees　over　sixty　
outnumber　those　under　thirty　by　a　ratio　of　about　three　to　one。　Only　4　percent　of　NASA　
workers　are　under　thirty。　A　2003　Government　Accounting　Office　study　concluded　that　
NASA　was　having　difficulty　hiring　people　with　the　sufficient　science；　engineering；　
and　information…technology　skills　that　are　critical　to　its　operations。　Many　of　these　
jobs　are　reserved　for　American　citizens；　because　of　national　security　concerns。　
Then…NASA　administrator　Sean　O'Keefe　testified　before　Congress　in　2002：　〃Our　mission　
of　understanding　and　protecting　our　home　planet　and　exploring　the　universe　and　
searching　for　life　will　not　be　carried　out　if　we　don't　have　the　people　to　do　it。〃　
The　National　Commission　on　Mathematics　and　Science　Teaching　for　the　Twenty…first　
Century；　chaired　by　the　former　astronaut　and　senator　John　Glenn；　found　that　two…

thirds　of　the　nation's　mathematics　and　science　teaching　force　will　retire　by　2010。　
Traditionally　we　made　up　for　any　shortages　of　engineers　and　science　faculty　by　
educating　more　at　home　and　importing　more　from　abroad。　But　both　of　those　remedies　
have　been　stalled　of　late。　
Every　two　years　the　National　Science　Board　supervises　the　collection　of　a　very　broad　
set　of　data　trends　in　science　and　technology　in　the　United　States；　which　it　publishes　
as　Science　and　Engineering　Indicators。　In　preparing　Indicators　2004；　the　NSB　said；　
〃We　have　observed　a　troubling　decline　in　the　number　of　U。S。　citizens　who　are　training　
to　become　scientists　and　engineers；　whereas　the　number　of　jobs　requiring　science　and　
engineering　（S&E）　training　continues　to　grow。〃　These　trends　threaten　the　economic　
welfare　and　security　of　our　country；　it　said；　adding　that　if　the　trends　identified　
in　Indicators　2004　continue　undeterred；　three　things　will　happen：　〃The　number　of　jobs　
in　the　U。S。　economy　that　require　science　and　engineering　training　will　grow；　the　
number　of　U。S。　citizens　prepared　for　those　jobs　will；　at　best；　be　level；　and　the　
availability　of　people　from　other　countries　who　have　science　and　engineering　training　
will　decline；　either　because　of　limits　to　entry　imposed　by　U。S。　national　security　
restrictions　or　because　of　intense　global　competition　for　people　with　these　skills。〃　
The　NSB　report　found　that　the　number　of　American　eighteen…to…twenty…four…year…olds　
who　receive　science　degrees　has　fallen　to　seventeenth　in　the　world；　whereas　we　ranked　
third　three　decades　ago。　It　said　that　of　the　2。8　million　first　university　degrees　


（what　we　call　bachelor's　degrees）　in　science　and　engineering　granted　worldwide　in　
2003；　1。2　million　were　earned　by　Asian　students　in　Asian　universities；　830；000　were　
granted　in　Europe；　and　400；000　in　the　United　States。　In　engineering　specifically；　
universities　in　Asian　countries　now　produce　eight　times　as　many　bachelor's　degrees　
as　the　United　States。　
Moreover；　〃the　proportional　emphasis　on　science　and　engineering　is　greater　in　other　
nations；〃　noted　Shirley　Ann　Jackson。　Science　and　engineering　degrees　now　represent　
60　percent　of　all　bachelor's　degrees　earned　in