Different field, same frustrations

>>
>I am one of the evil "outsourcerers" who are stealing jobs from
>Americans. (And from Europeans too. My company,
>www.vettatech.com , has clients in both places and even several of our
>so-called "Brazilian" clients are in fact Transnational companies.)
>I
>understand that we are contributing to make tech careers less appealing in
>the West. However...
>
>... My alien perception is that, in the US at least, tech careers have been
>unpopular for decades, and outsourcing is just the coup-de-grace in a
>already
>weak popularity. Basically all products of the American culture show tech
>people as "social losers", and "nerd" is a derisive term AFAIK. And I am
>talking about cultural products that at least *care* to show nerds, even if
>as comical figures; for most of the movies and TV series show professions
>that apparently give social status, like lawyers and doctors. So, you
>produce
>series like "IR" and "The Practice", but I can't quite remember of a series
>named "The Nuclear Power Plant" or "The Software Company" :-). Sometimes I
>wonder how the US kept the leading edge of science and technology for a
>whole
>century with a memetic background apparently so unwelcoming for techies.
>

Unfortunately I have to agree with Lucio...

I am a US citizen, and the points he makes have been quite clear for awhile.
This concerns me a great deal, especially since I am a father of two
children, and have to see them grow up in a culture where it is 'hip' to
over react emotionally in a knee-jerk way to PC causes regardless off fact
and reality, and it is 'hip' in school to be the rebel who disdains
education... In short, it has become 'hip' to be stupid. The feedback cycle
provided by the hollywood and the media only exacerbates the situation.

I do, however, disagree with Lucio in this being off topic. We have spent a
fair amount of time debating the economics of space ventures, yet ultimately
the biggest factor is how many competent engineers and scientists we
produce. Right now that is clearly on the decline in US. And, since the US
has the largest economy and therefore the greatest ability to jump start
space ventures, that is especially disheartening.

In an effort to not appear a doomsayer, I will point out that awareness of
this problem seems to be growing in the right areas. So, in short, I
strongly recommend that all of us interested in getting humanity out of the
gravity well support education as much as possible, especially elementary
school.

Val