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Comment by jedberg

1 day ago

That's true. It is possible that the smartest 5% are all here in the USA. But it is statistically unlikely that's true.

You put words in my mouth. I don't claim that the smartest are clustered in the USA.

  • So your original comment was somewhat of a tangent. the point jedberg made is that it is in the interest of a country with a strong economic and academic base to welcome the smartest people from across the world, since it is unlikely that all the smartest people in the world are in the US.

    • Yes, but Jedberg makes it sound as though -- given that only a small fraction of the world's population lives in the USA -- the country has little chance of succeeding if it is to go without immigrants. I disagree, and an extreme example I could offer as a counterpoint is Japan: tiny population (relatively), yet outsized performance.

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