Dropping Out

The media loves origin stories (Daub, 2020) especially when the company or individual goes through a "Hero's Journey" where there is some call to action (typically starting up a business or investing in a technology), challenges are encountered that introduce doubt and fear until a revelation is made, transformation occurs, and the organization or individual comes out victorious!  This is why the Silicon Valley Drop Out is so interesting.  They leave college due to some calling and, against all odds, transform the world with their pure intellect and unwavering determination to make billions of dollars.

In reality, the Silicon Valley Drop Out does so because they have a transactional perspective on school.  Mark Zuckerberg learned what he could from Harvard and when it got stale, he moved onto the next opportunity, which was Facebook.  Elizabeth Holmes took the engineering classes needed at Stanford then left to tackle Theranos (Daub, 2020).  This transactional mindset to school, I would assume, translates to business which is why they become successful.

The media framing these dropouts as not needing diplomas to be successful in life, asserts that a transactional mindset can get you ahead.  This mindset has also translated to the workforce.  In generational cohorts, there is an 11% turnover rate in Generation X while Generation Y (Millennials) have a turnover rate of 87% (Weerarathne, et al., 2023).  Part of this difference is that Generation X are generally seen as hard workers who are committed while Millennials have a harder time committing (Springer, 2023). However, the Millennials inability to commit can be attributed to the transactional mindset glorified by media's narrative on drop outs.  When 72% of employees leave because they are not getting the career advancement they believe they deserve (Lavri, 2023) then they are making transactional decisions.

Eight Great Technologies

In 2013, Hon. David Willets laid out his vision on how England should improve their research and development efforts with a prioritization on the following 8 technologies: Big Data, Space, Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Synthetic Biology, Regenerative Medicine, Agri-Science, Advanced Materiels, and Energy.  In comparison, the U.S. R&D priorities for FY24 are (The White House, 2023):

1. Cutting the death rate from cancer by at least half

2. Preparing for and preventing pandemics

3. Tackling Climate Change

4. Advancing national security and technological competitiveness

5. Innovation for Equity

6. Cultivating STEM education, engagement, and workforce ecosystems

The priorities are different for two primary reasons.  The first and most obvious is that there is a 10 year gap and the world and priorities have changed.  The second hits the point that Hon. David Willets was making regarding England's inability to transition scientific discoveries to commercial applications, referred to as the "Valley of Death" for R&D.  England looks at R&D from a technology perspective.  The United States frames R&D around a purpose.  This difference in perspective is the root cause of the "Valley of Death".  By framing R&D around a purpose, there is inherently a commercial application coupled with the scientific discoveries.  It also allows for flexibility in which technologies can be used and how they can be used creating opportunities for further innovation.