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Open culture, open minds
Oct. 27th, 2007 01:30 pmThe king of Saudi Arabia wants to create a center of excellence and higher education to foster innovation in the middle east. Perhaps he is trying to emulate the success of Dubai. However, the country's religious law creates a very repressive culture, and it appears clear to the king that this culture is not conducive to learning and research.
As a result, he's creating a special zone where none of the religious laws apply, and placing a university within that zone. He's outsourced the entire project to an oil and construction firm to ensure his own government can't mess with it. In this zone, women can drive, dress normally, and intermingle with men in public. In fact, just about all the religious laws are suspended, except for the prohibition on alcohol and Israelis. (perhaps they're both considered dangerous because they are too much fun? :-) It's too bad, because Israel turns out far more academic papers per capita than any other country in the middle east.
Learn more here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/world/middleeast/26saudi.html?hp
If you look at the centers of innovation in the US, they're generally the places with the most tolerant and open atmospheres -- Boston, San Francisco, New York etc. Basically, really smart people like to live in a place where their nontraditional ideas and ways aren't shunned. Plus, smart people come in all shapes and sizes, so if you want to maximize the pool of smart people, you'll have to make sure that the brilliant hardware engineer who happens to be a transsexual feels welcome in your city.
As a result, he's creating a special zone where none of the religious laws apply, and placing a university within that zone. He's outsourced the entire project to an oil and construction firm to ensure his own government can't mess with it. In this zone, women can drive, dress normally, and intermingle with men in public. In fact, just about all the religious laws are suspended, except for the prohibition on alcohol and Israelis. (perhaps they're both considered dangerous because they are too much fun? :-) It's too bad, because Israel turns out far more academic papers per capita than any other country in the middle east.
Learn more here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/world/middleeast/26saudi.html?hp
If you look at the centers of innovation in the US, they're generally the places with the most tolerant and open atmospheres -- Boston, San Francisco, New York etc. Basically, really smart people like to live in a place where their nontraditional ideas and ways aren't shunned. Plus, smart people come in all shapes and sizes, so if you want to maximize the pool of smart people, you'll have to make sure that the brilliant hardware engineer who happens to be a transsexual feels welcome in your city.
