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Am erican companies were asleep at the wheel about applying
superconductors in consumer products.  The Japanese, on the other hand,
were developing ways to use these futuristic materials to revolutionize
everything from high-speed computer chips and power generators to simple
electric wiring.29  We also invented then abandoned flat panel video screens--
an essential element in laptop computers--and amorphous crystal solar
panels30 (the ones that show up on everything from calculators to watches).
Meanwhile, throughout the '80s our military budgets climbed
dramatically.  Like the English under Victoria, we were trying to fool
ourselves with the notion that weapons are the real source of strength.
In the 1800s, the British lost their preeminence.  They did it by
forgetting what counts the most in the pecking order of nations.  To stay in
place, you have to run.  To get anywhere, you have to run even harder!31
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