pyotr filipivich wrote:

as an explaination for the decline in the US's tech edge, James
Niccol wrote "It used to be that the USA was pretty good at
producing stuff teenaged boys could lose a finger or two playing with."

About 20 years ago a Japanese delegation of Engineers were given a tour
of the plant where I worked. After the tour there was a get together in
the plant cafeteria. The slippage of U.S. technology was a subject that
came up.
One Japanese engineer smiled and said:
"Graduation of U.S. colleges is answer; two lawyers to every engineer.
Japanese colleges graduate 4 engineers to every lawyer!"

Bill Shuey