The United Kingdom, upon a study an inch deep into innovations, technology, and science in the last few decades or centuries, follows a deeply unacademic, unscientific, and unprovable common sense lifecycle. Mind you, we speak not of a reckless odyssey into the abyss of history or archives, just a cursory glance and relaxed wading beneath the surface.
After the Industrial Revolution accident and a few spatterings of supported-only-in-the-end pioneers in electromagnetic communications, it seemed all downhill. Or ramps built by innovators, falling into the abyss; rinse; repeat. Space industry and the British Interplanetary Society. The internet. The world wide web. The early big and common computing industry. Energy, fusion. Quantum Computing. RISC, arm. Etc. Even the stalwarts and stewards of global finance and innovations, elsewhere first.
It almost always starts with wits and smarts, of one or a few good folks: dreaming but with intelligence and capability, perhaps with a willful naivete of human politics and power dynamics. Sheer determination and perhaps a bountiful but limited amount of inspiration and goodwill becomes the proxy for lack of capital, or benefectors, or patrons, or state who can almost always match and beat immense amounts of persistence with a force more powerful than dreams: the status quo — of power, of politics, of budget allocations, of bickering, of bigotry, of twists, of pandering, and … They say political will is always lacking. This too is wrong. For the will to resist the will of good in protection of themselves, their vested interests, and the status quo is most definitely not lacking.
Start here. Startup. Upstart. Levelling Up. 1800s. 1900s. 2000s.
Ramp up against the tide. Migrants. Migrant locals. Local migrants.
Apathy and entitlement from everyone. Locals.
Apathy from the only people or groups who can make an outsized difference.
Tried. Tried. tried. tried. tired…..
Someone else, somewhere else, picks it up.
UK says it has always been good at X.Y.Z., already a leader in A.B.C…. BUTs in fine prints, a few paragraphs later. Excuses…
BUT.
We will build and catch up. Of course with miniscule resources and commitments.
1B for AI. For 10 Years! Barbie Celebrates!!!
Too late. Too late. Too late.
It wastes. And wastes. And wastes. And justifies current failures as success and wisdom of the past to have not started at all.
Soft Power. Brand. We are great. We can “coordinate” and “show” force and commitment.
Curse the fates. We are great.
Someday. Maybe.
Or the wiser ones, just go somewhere else.
Rue the day, when the true wisdom is not the idea. But to not depend and not start in an environment of pretense, of privilege, of entitlement.
But money is here! More start up capital “invested” in startups here. Of course they are stuck in the funds and banks of investors. Not employed. Not ROI. ROCE.
America. Canada. China. Germany. Even Italy whom they say is the precursor and cautionary tale to UK’s decline retains its immense manufacturing clusters to some relevant degree. India. Vietnam. South East Asia. South America. Switzerland.
Any location which, by and large, still represents enterprise, hard graft, and meeting inspiration and intellect with a bit of luck.
Luck. That is what is left. Luck of heritage. Luck of inheritance and wealth unearned now. In the bank. In “real” property. Rent. Rent. Rent. Tourist. Squeeze the living hell out of students, instead of keeping the world’s brightest, savviest, most persevering, and daring — bleed them dry and throw them into the bin.
What now. At least you know, AI did not write this. A human did. A human who followed the the wisdom of the AI, and found an egress point elsewhere; not in the constipated, stifling, parasitic, and reckless circumstances called the “United” Kingdom of “Great” Britain and “Northern” Ireland (with double standards).
By: Edward Holloway
