What is the Big Idea?
A new study released on Tuesday shows that immigrants play a leading role in innovation and economic growth in the United States. “Patent Pending: How Immigrants Are Reinventing The American Economy", a report authored by Partnership for a New American Economy, details the ways in which foreign-born innovators are changing the American economy.
"From more efficient ways to purify seawater to metals that can be molded like plastic, the report highlights several immigrant inventors behind some of the most cutting-edge technologies," they write. "These foreign-born inventors are fueling patent awards at the top patent-producing universities, and their new innovations and new companies are advancing American industries and creating American jobs."
Key findings of the report include:
What is the Significance?
These findings were released in conjunction with a letter signed by more than 100 presidents of top American universities asking Obama and Congress for a solution that paves a clear path to a green card for graduates.
"This is indisputable proof of the enormous contribution of immigrants in developing the new technologies and ideas needed to renew the U.S. economy and create American jobs," said Partnership for a New American Economy Co-Chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in a press release. "American universities are doing their part in attracting and educating the world’s top minds, but our broken immigration laws continue to push them to our competitors. We simply cannot continue to force these innovators out if we want to remain the world’s leading economy.”
Current immigration laws prevents students from obtaining visas after graduation. They are forced to return home and unable to create the technology and opportunities that help create jobs.
Ninety-nine percent of the patents by foreign-born inventors were in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), an area where the U.S. is projected to face a deficit of 230,000 workers by 2018.
"Every graduate with an advanced degree working in a STEM-related field in the United States has been shown to create on average 2.62 additional jobs for native-born workers. Sending those people away doesn’t protect American jobs, it jeopardizes them," said Nick Schulz of the American Enterprise Institute.
The 4 types of thinking talents: Analytic, procedural, relational and innovative
Understanding thinking talents in yourself and others can build strong teams and help avoid burnout.
- Learn to collaborate within a team and identify "thinking talent" surpluses – and shortages.
- Angie McArthur teaches intelligent collaboration for Big Think Edge.
- Subscribe to Big Think Edge before we launch on March 30 to get 20% off monthly and annual memberships.
Jordan Peterson on Joe Rogan: The gender paradox and the importance of competition
The Canadian professor has been on the Joe Rogan Experience six times. There's a lot of material to discuss.
- Jordan Peterson has constantly been in the headlines for his ideas on gender over the last three years.
- While on Joe Rogan's podcast, he explains his thoughts on the gender differences in society.
- On another episode, Peterson discusses the development of character through competition.
Horseshoe crabs are drained for their blue blood. That practice will soon be over.
The blood of horseshoe crabs is harvested on a massive scale in order to retrieve a cell critical to medical research. However, recent innovations might make this practice obsolete.
- Horseshoe crabs' blue blood is so valuable that a quart of it can be sold for $15,000.
- This is because it contains a molecule that is crucial to the medical research community.
- Today, however, new innovations have resulted in a synthetic substitute that may end the practice of farming horseshoe crabs for their blood.
Do you have a self-actualized personality? Maslow revisited
Rediscovering the principles of self-actualisation might be just the tonic that the modern world is crying out for.
Abraham Maslow was the 20th-century American psychologist best-known for explaining motivation through his hierarchy of needs, which he represented in a pyramid. At the base, our physiological needs include food, water, warmth and rest.
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