[devoply]

Silicon Valley has two major things going for it. Talent and money. Asians are intelligent and talented, if they were not they would not be pulling huge work loads in American univerisities. At this point they have lots of capital too as a result of the ascension of the economies in their respective countries. Your comparison of so-called elite universities is a false dichotomy, those work on different rules than technology. Technology does not recognize social status and all that other stuff. Technology belongs to no one and can be acquired by anyone with money and talent.

[seanmcdirmid]

Chinese have won plenty of Nobel prizes, just not when they were in china.

It just isn't about aptitude, or even capital, but society has to be developed and free enough to let innovation happen. Where all the capital (human and financial) has accumulated (China), this simply isn't the case. We will continue to see young Chinese leaving for the west to realize their full potentials.

[homarp]

>society has to be developed and free enough to let innovation happen.

see parallel discussion on "China invents the digital totalitarian state" - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13201926

[dpandey]

>Asians are intelligent and talented,

So are Europeans and Latinos and Americans and Arabs and Africans and dolphins.

The discussion isn't about race. It's about creating a culture and ecosystem of innovation. Which even other cities in the US have failed to replicate beyond modest successes.