Letter from Shanghai: Reflections on China in 2024 — #73

• (00:00) - Overview: 3 weeks in China
• (02:33) - The China knowledge problem: Grappling with Reality
• (06:54) - Physics seminars in Shanghai and Beijing
• (15:54) - Chinese academia, challenges in scientific culture
• (22:43) - Yu Min: Two Bombs, One Satellite
• (27:02) - He Jiankui and gene editing, plus the future of biotech in China
• (33:32) - China's AI and chip war strategy. Impact of U.S. policies on semiconductor industry
• (35:46) - Quiet confidence in China's technological advancements
• (37:17) - Discovering my father's history in Yunnan, etched in stone
• (41:04) - Climbing Jade Mountain on election night: Trump Triumph
• (48:31) - Shanghai modern infrastructure and technology
• (51:16) - High-speed rail in China
• (53:12) - Visit China - or at least watch some travel videos on YouTube!

Links to X posts made during my trip - check out the whole timeline

during this period.

PPP and US vs PRC Real GDP

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1851653168158949492

PhD student asks me whether Jews control US politics:

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1852179736035778768

Note to retards, on "Chicoms":

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1852195575434715645

Yu Min and the Chinese H-bomb:

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1852497112635671016

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1852497765353558371

Me and He Jiankui:

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1852693355601199262

Dali:

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1853239642075648356

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1853247317840629820

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1853301562480718195

Lijiang:

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1854395254105047484

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1854503079669838057

MAGA on the Mountain:

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1854015799901495674

Business-class lie flat seats on HSR:

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1855042439280791977

Kumming:

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1855050351755641106

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1855409317937098864

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1855748351855071433

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1856215080637215222

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1856239700362834006

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1856533059509653578

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1856634646160683273

Shanghai:

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1857282310099386857

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1857391783770276314

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1857574060122845381

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1857653348557603255

https://x.com/hsu_steve/status/1858033981276467535

Music used with permission from Blade Runner Blues Livestream improvisation by State Azure.

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Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.