07-07-2003 05:24									#1
	Britain's got big ideas, but does nothing about them Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

Ok, so I was playing Trivial Pursuits earlier, and one of the questions was (paraphrased) "Which country has accounted for 55% of all commercially viable inventions since the end of WW2, according to a Japanese Ministry of Trade Study?". The answer was Britain.

I proceeded to do a little research and apparently the report also said that the US accounts for 25%, and Japan 5%.


Its just a shame we don't support these inventions and inventors more.

	07-07-2003 05:57									#2
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Agreed. Personally I think accountant dominated business practce, allied with the banks commitment to short term/high return has a lot to do with lack of investment in new ideas.

	07-07-2003 06:08									#3
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As an aside Japan invents very little, rathar they have always been the best at taking existing ideas and fine tuning them.

	07-07-2003 06:28									#4
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Damn, you English fellows need to get better patent lawyers.

	07-07-2003 07:51									#5
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UK firms tend to be more conservative than US and Japanese ones.

	07-07-2003 07:52									#6
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More conservative than Japanese firms? I didn't think that was possible.

	07-07-2003 07:59									#7
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Are you kidding? Japanese firms adopt new manufacturing technology much faster than other ones. For example, they are the first ones to use robotic arms for carmaking.

	07-07-2003 08:03									#8
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Invent air conditioning and cook books, and you'll be fine.

	07-07-2003 08:12									#9
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quote: Are you kidding? Japanese firms adopt new manufacturing technology much faster than other ones. For example, they are the first ones to use robotic arms for carmaking.

Somewhat true. The electronics and automoblie manufacturing sectors aren't nearly as conservative as the rest of the Japanese industrial sector; they can't afford to be, as their industries aren't protected from foreign competition like other Japanese industries. On the whole, however, Japanese firms are still very conservative, maybe not as conservative as British firms (don't know much about British firms), but conservative nonetheless.

	07-07-2003 16:18									#10
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Britain is very conservative about employing new methods. Its how we pissed away a 100 year lead in industrialisation.

	07-07-2003 16:20									#11
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We don't have any manufacturing industry here any more either really. Almost all those inventions have to be made overseas.

	07-07-2003 16:58									#12
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I don't think the issue is one of making the goods, we simply do not have enough support for the good idea's. Dyson really had to struggle to do what he did, it should not be so hard. He is now planning to move production abroad, and good luck to him.

What I want to know is, how did it change ?? People like Brunnel and Stevenson would have got nowhere in todays climate, so why did we suddenly become affraid to take risks, is it some hang over from the world wars ? or loss of empire ??

	07-07-2003 17:08									#13
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It's our miserable penny-pinching mentality. We could really use some of Brunel's drive.

	07-07-2003 17:33									#14
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No one in the establishment really wants to dream anymore. Some parts of the culture have become so steeped in the concept of gradual change and conservativism that those who want to reach the stars get pushed aside. I mean, we have the technology to make Brunel's greatest triumphs look like the works of an ant yet we don't try. We could have bridges across the Irish Sea or high-speed trains that connect Plymouth to Aberdeen in two hours travel time or buildings that touch the sky. But do we? Hell, we can't even get our current train network working and, for the life of me, seem reistant to the idea of tube networks anywhere outside London. Why on earth don't Birmingham or Manchester or the other big cities have their own tube networks like big cities in other countries do?

	07-07-2003 17:38									#15
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quote: Originally posted by Sandman It's our miserable penny-pinching mentality. We could really use some of Brunel's drive.

Isembard Kingdom Brunel. What a name! What a man!

	07-07-2003 17:58									#16
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You should look up which country holds the most amount of patents. That would be more interesting.

	07-07-2003 18:12									#17
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Why is that more interesting than looking at commercially viable patents? I guess whatever country it is would just be good at patenting pointless crap.

	07-07-2003 21:05									#18
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"Isembard Kingdom Brunel. What a name! What a man!"

...what a hat!

	07-07-2003 21:07									#19
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Was he per any chance queer?

	07-07-2003 21:12									#20
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Nah. Would have been funny if he was though.

	07-07-2003 21:12									#21
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Well...he was a little odd I suppose...he had the largest collection of chains in the country.

Attachment: img-brunel.jpg
This has been downloaded 93 time(s).

	07-07-2003 21:41									#22
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What's Trivial Pursuits?

	07-07-2003 21:50									#23
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It's worth remembering that Brunel bankrupted most of his financiers. Yes- he was a genius, but would you have invested money in his projects?

	07-07-2003 22:07									#24
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quote: Originally posted by Eli What's Trivial Pursuits?

http://www.trivialpursuit.com/trivialpursuit/about.vm

	07-07-2003 23:56									#25
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Let's start with a tunnel from Northern Ireland to South West Scotland. Oerdin suggested this a while ago, and while I was initially sceptical, it soon became clear to me that it's feasible. Hell, the Victorians were thinking about doing it.

	08-07-2003 02:45									#26
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quote: It's worth remembering that Brunel bankrupted most of his financiers. Yes- he was a genius, but would you have invested money in his projects?

But it was many of his projects that helped Britain economically since then. In the long term, such things are good!

	08-07-2003 03:04									#27
	Re: Britain's got big ideas, but does nothing about them Support Apolyton, buy GURPS/ Alpha Centauri

quote: Originally posted by Big Crunch Its just a shame we don't support these inventions and inventors more.

Britain & Europe have a high tax anti-entrapranure tax structure. Add on the governments desire to regulate everything they can think of and you see why people who have big ideas move else where to make them a reality.

Britain and Holland are the least taxed and regulated in Europe but that just means you’re the best of the worst offenders.

	08-07-2003 03:23									#28
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I think its about time we took advantage of the delapidated rail system, and built something new in its place. I saw plans some time back for a rocket/jet powered (can't remember which one it was) vehicle, which moves at incredible speeds along a set of circular braces .. probably sitting in some office gathering dust, or being built by some other nation.

As a UK tax payer, id approve of tax money going to such projects, and supporting them while it beds in. Wasn't the Empire state building in the red for some years after construction .. its vision ! The Empire state building would never have been built in London, not until the dire need for space becomes so acute, that the building is desperatly ordered, thrown up in half the time and estimated costs have sky rocketed ..

I was always told, you wear the cloths for the position you want to be in at work .. (although, thats probably not good for me) well, maybe thats how we should plan our economy .. not where we think it will be, .. where we want it to be !!!

	08-07-2003 03:41									#29
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quote: Originally posted by Sandman Let's start with a tunnel from Northern Ireland to South West Scotland. Oerdin suggested this a while ago, and while I was initially sceptical, it soon became clear to me that it's feasible. Hell, the Victorians were thinking about doing it.

FDR said something like if leaders can capture the people's imagination with great projects/ideas then the people will rise to the occation. All it takes is leadership to point them in the right direction.

Kennedy did this with when he declared we'd go to the moon in ten years (they made it in 9.5 years) even though he had no idea how they'd do it, if it was technically possible, or where he'd find the money. Accomplishing great things requires leaders to show the people where to focus their energy.

	08-07-2003 03:51									#30
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quote: Originally posted by Oerdin FDR said something like if leaders can capture the people's imagination with great projects/ideas then the people will rise to the occation. All it takes is leadership to point them in the right direction. Kennedy did this with when he declared we'd go to the moon in ten years (they made it in 9.5 years) even though he had no idea how they'd do it, if it was technically possible, or where he'd find the money. Accomplishing great things requires leaders to show the people where to focus their energy.

and this is why UK is mediocre... the best example of this is the Millenium DOme - how to wast a Billion for the millenium... British are engulfed with their uselesness it's already a national sport, but even politicians have to give it the mark of approval... Imagine if a billion was given to the new Wembley on top of all the money that is going to be spent

sad this is what it is...