this post was submitted on 06 Sep 2023
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That's a really misleading article. Badly written and polarizing by leaving out crucial information. It's basically clickbait.
The GDP per capita, adjusted for purchasing power, in the US was at $76,398.6 in 2022, while the Euro Area had $56,494.2 and the EU $54,248.6. A gap is there but it's not nearly as dramatic as this article makes it sound.
(I'm sure most of you know this, but I'm still clarifying for the few who don't.)
And even that doesn't take into account that there are much more super rich people in the US making an insane amount of money.
I don't have any statistics but I would guess the median income in the US probably isn't that high compared to their cost of living.
That's a 35% difference! And again, of course the disposable income in Europe is more than adequate, but what about technology? Europe is lagging everywhere : computers, phones, space, IA, etc.
Relative difference between two values depends on the perspective. These numbers mean that the purchasing power in the USA is 35% higher when compared to the EU. Conversely, it means that the purchasing power in the EU is 26% lower when compared to the USA.
Math is fun. As a rule of thumb: If you have one third more than someone else, he has one quarter less than you. Perspective is often used in journalism to scew statistics without lying, so it's nice to be aware.
The same is true for the "80% gap" posted in the headline of the original article. Without direction, a relative difference is incomplete.
Space? Europe recently landed on a comet, something no one else has done, something even NASA has never achieved.
Rosetta was the first spacecraft to orbit a comet nucleus, and was the first spacecraft to fly alongside a comet as it headed towards the inner Solar System. It became the first spacecraft to examine at close proximity the activity of a frozen comet as it is warmed by the Sun. Shortly after its arrival at 67P, the Rosetta orbiter dispatched the Philae lander for the first controlled touchdown on a comet nucleus. The robotic lander's instruments obtained the first images from a comet's surface and made the first in situ analysis of its composition.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_(spacecraft)
Furthermore, do you know who makes the machines that TSMC uses to create the chips that power the worlds smartphones and countless other devices? A European company. Yes Taiwan makes the CPUs, but we make the CPU makers.
I am a proud European, but do not kid yourself. The United States are light years ahead in space technology. The Ariane program is a complete clusterfuck as of now.
Is US rocket supremacy why Π‘ΠΎΡΠ· rockets were bringing most of the US stuff into LEO the last 20 years or so?
The Soyuz is not a bad rocket, neither is the Ariane. It is just that technology has advanced quite significantly in the last few years. And rockets are just a (very visible) part of space technology.
Quite a turnaround you made here. From clusterfuck to not bad in 1 comment
Okay lets see. What I meant is: at its time, the Ariane 5 was a great program. Now is a different time. Now we have got SpaceX (and RocketLab etc.) and at the same time the Ariane 6 is already outdated before it is ever launched. At the same time, the Ariane 6 program has run into major delays, so it is not even clear when the first launch will be β probably 2024.
Reusable rocket technology is where it's at if we as Europeans want to stay relevant in the commercial launch sector.
Honestly, I'm totally fine with whoever launching our stuff, because what I actually care about is the science and exploration part, not the rocket itself
Ehhhh silly take imho because while most of the big tech companies are headquartered in the US, microchip and computer technology is a massive multinational effort.
Europe is arguably more important, because it's home to way more open source and open hardware initiatives, and the EU is actually regulating important sustainable pro-consumer features like replaceable batteries.
If you don't want to see giant companies lock down every feature into a subscription (become a silver monthly member and unlock heated seats in your car!), then we need open source.