[jedberg]

It's a simple matter of math. The USA has less than 5% of the world's population. It's statistically impossible for that 5% to be the smartest 5% in the world. Therefore, if we want the smartest people in the world, we have to allow immigrants.

[hallole]

The smartest aren't uniformly distributed across the Earth.

[array_key_first]

They almost certainly are, at least before we account for education. Education is, of course, not uniform.

But... the US also has not the best education, so.

[myroon5]

> account for education

and nutrition, pollution, infectious diseases, etc

[jedberg]

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

[hallole]

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

[unethical_ban]

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.

[hallole]

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.

[matwood]

Japan has struggled economically for decades. One of the fixes being put forth is to greatly increase immigration.

[irishcoffee]

So we need leetcode for immigration now?