# What Is the Most Technologically Advanced Country in the World? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 5, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401 "2011-06-05T15:43:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/21 "2011-06-06T16:00:58Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > In this day and age, I should think that not crapping up your environment should count very highly. Crapping up outer space with garbage loses you huge points, to my mind. Really? Outer space is pretty big you know. I’d think it’s ideal for sending crap into - it’s the trashcan that never gets full. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/22 "2011-06-06T16:21:03Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > _ **DOOM** _ is offended at your lack of appreciation for the glorious state of Latveria! Marzal, where all the blacks moved to in the Legion of Superheros, is very advanced. I suspect that Latveria would be rated behind it, if only because of Marzal’s hyper-advanced,[Pimp-Swimsuit industry](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/21/Tyroclosh.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/23 "2011-06-06T16:28:03Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Really? Outer space is pretty big you know. I’d think it’s ideal for sending crap into - it’s the trashcan that never gets full. The issue is all of the crap which is in orbit around Earth – debris from all of our space missions. It’s actually becoming a significant hazard for satellites and spaceships. > **[Space debris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris)** > > Space debris (also known as space junk, space pollution, space waste, space trash, space garbage, or cosmic debris) are defunct human-made objects in space – principally in Earth orbit – which no longer serve a useful function. These include derelict spacecraft (nonfunctional spacecraft and abandoned launch vehicle stages), mission-related debris, and particularly numerous in-Earth orbit, fragmentation debris from the breakup of derelict rocket bodies and spacecraft. In addition to derelict Spa... ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/24 "2011-06-06T17:12:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Really? Outer space is pretty big you know. I’d think it’s ideal for sending crap into - it’s the trashcan that never gets full. You do realize this is exactly the argument once used for dumping garbage in the oceans, rivers and lakes, right? They were wrong then, and you’re wrong now. Being the first to leave garbage on the moon will, a couple of generations from now, be seen in an entirely different light, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/25 "2011-06-06T17:35:01Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The issue is all of the crap which is in orbit around Earth – debris from all of our space missions. It’s actually becoming a significant hazard for satellites and spaceships. > [Space debris - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_debris) The US isn’t the only one making that [problem](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SDd59HFkDQI/S2Vrs00iNKI/AAAAAAAAB9s/0aOnkSLQjSQ/satillites-orbiting-earth.jpg). We have the most fragments up there (by a bit), but we have way more working systems which means we are much more efficient. We have 7.2 fragments for every operational satellite up there, good ol’ China has 67 fragments for every operational satellite. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/26 "2011-06-06T17:57:01Z")
What it means is that those nations who have not produced space garbage, are way ahead, in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/27 "2011-06-06T17:59:07Z")
“On the Moon” and “in orbit” are not outer space though. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/28 "2011-06-06T18:00:57Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > While true, I think it’s pretty obvious that smaller computers would have happened regardless, and the internet came to pass with the help of universities and so, I believe would have arisen anyway. Perhaps not in the same time frame, but it would have. I disagree. I think it’s too simple to say, in hindsight, that everything would have worked out the same if we didn’t have the original impetus for these events. And while it’s true that universities were involved, the motivation, funding, and most of the design work for what would become the internet - came from the DoD. [As wiki put](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darpanet) - > [@](#): > > By mid-1968, Taylor had prepared a complete plan for a computer network, and, after ARPA’s approval, a Request for Quotation (RFQ) was sent to 140 potential bidders. Most computer science companies regarded the ARPA–Taylor proposal as outlandish, and only twelve submitted bids to build the network; of the twelve, ARPA regarded only four as top-rank contractors. At year’s end, ARPA considered only two contractors, and awarded the contract to build the network to BBN Technologies on April 7, 1969. Computer science was in its infancy when ARPA proposed its packet-switching network. It wasn’t something that was obviously ready to happen. Nor would it have happened outside of a laboratory without massive amounts of money. Universities alone wouldn’t have made it happen in 1969. Would we have the internet today - possibly. Would it be as advanced and far reaching without the original money and motivation? I doubt it. > [@](#): > > In this day and age, I should think that not crapping up your environment should count very highly. Crapping up outer space with garbage loses you huge points, to my mind. > > Again, Singapore is way, way ahead, on the things that really matter. Singapore has a lot to be said for it - although I’m not sure their society would be sustainable if they had more territory. Beyond that, I don’t think you can hand wave away space exploration as simply junking up the universe. Space junk is a genuine problem but it’s hardly the sum total of what we’ve learned in the process. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/29 "2011-06-06T18:21:58Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > \ > Canadians are by some measure the world’s most heavy Internet users, so I could argue that makes us more advanced. Or I could argue for Singapore, the USA, Japan… I could argue for France, too. It’s an unanswerable question. I understand that former Prime Minister Chrétien made it a mandate for his government to provide internet connectivity across Canada (including the north). That’s some pretty impressive technological advancement, considering the geography and the challenges. According to [this site](http://www.internetworldstats.com/top20.htm), we’re in the top five countries for internet usage, beating even the US percentage-wise (but not by much). ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/30 "2011-06-06T22:31:03Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Really? Outer space is pretty big you know. I’d think it’s ideal for sending crap into - it’s the trashcan that never gets full. It’s also the trashcan that takes a huge amount of energy to put anything into, and where the trash can orbit right back into you at astronomical velocities. Now the Moon; the Moon is dead, and anything you put there stays there. Dumping stuff there is wasteful, but at least it isn’t going to smack into anything and punch holes in them. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/31 "2011-06-06T23:00:45Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Having lived abroad a bit, I’m going to have to vote the USA: > > Clothes Drying Machines > Central Water Heaters > Central A/C > Garbage Disposal Systems > In-Wall Wiring > Dish Washing Machines It isn’t just that the US has these kinds of things, it is also that they work a lot better than the most common European versions of them. Take, for example, the British washer-dryer. A piece of crap machine that administers a mild waterboarding to dirty underwear to convince them to giving up a little bit of dirt after six hours of running time, leaving the owner with a somewhat moist pile of clothes ready to be put back into a marshy swamp. Or the ubiquitous hand dryer that achieves wind speeds in excess of 35 km/h (is that a lot?) and at temperatures as high as 25 degrees centigrade (is that a lot?). Those things don’t stand a chance against the US-made Xcelerator which features air speeds of 200 mph and 135 degree Fahrenheit. Those things cannot be used in enclosed bathrooms without open doors or windows, because the overpressure generated tends to incinerate every living thing inside. Hoo-rah. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/32 "2011-06-07T00:23:04Z")
Vatican city? I don’t think they have the most _advanced_ technology, but they probably win the award for 100% of people having the basic stuff 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/33 "2011-06-07T01:12:19Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > The US isn’t the only one making that [problem](http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SDd59HFkDQI/S2Vrs00iNKI/AAAAAAAAB9s/0aOnkSLQjSQ/satillites-orbiting-earth.jpg). We have the most fragments up there (by a bit), but we have way more working systems which means we are much more efficient. Just to clarify, by “all of our space missions”, I meant the human race, not just the U.S. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/34 "2011-06-07T01:29:38Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Having lived abroad a bit, I’m going to have to vote the USA: > > Clothes Drying Machines > Central Water Heaters > Central A/C > Garbage Disposal Systems > In-Wall Wiring > Dish Washing Machines > > These are things that almost every single low-rent apartment has in the US, and yet they’re rare even at nice places in the EU, Japan, and elsewhere. (Admittedly, a lot of that can be said to come from smaller living spaces and a culture of living in centuries-old buildings.) ?!?!?!? Everyone I’ve ever met has them all except for A/C (because, hey, who wants AC in our climate)? I’m in the UK, by the way. You _really_ think that dishwashers and tumble dryers are somehow rare? I assure you that they are not. Dunno where you stayed, but you managed to find a\* hole\*. We’ve been way ahead of you on mobile-phone tech for **years** (Apple forced a catch-up, though, followed by Android, so the tech is fairly universal now). ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/35 "2011-06-07T02:08:15Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Ah, I overlooked that. Yes, I concur, those muncher things don’t exist in most normal places here. Garbage disposals aren’t ubiquitous here, either. I know it seems like it every 6 months on the Dope when we get to argue again whether the manual states what the unit is intended for, but I’m 36 years old, have lived in 10 different buildings in two states, and none of them have had a garbage disposal. My grandmother had one, and one of my friends had one once. They’re a novelty to me. A really cool novelty I’d love to have, but not really common in my neck of the woods. [QUOTE=Sage Rat] Drying Machines Central Water Heaters Central A/C Garbage Disposal Systems In-Wall Wiring Dish Washing Machines [/QUOTE] There are lots of not-so-low rent apartments in Chicago without washers and/or dryers, Central A/C or dishwashers, too. I’ve only had one dishwasher that came with an apartment (bought my own portable that I moved twice), and only one place with Central A/C. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/36 "2011-06-07T03:00:37Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > What it means is that those nations who have not produced space garbage, are way ahead, in my mind. I don’t know that not doing things (not harming the environment, not putting stuff in space, etc.) = technological advancement. I think when you look at who has been the driving force behind most of the world’s technological advancements over the last hundred and fifty years or so, the U.S. is the clear winner. The telephone, the automobile, airplanes, radio and television technology, exploration in space, electronic and medical technology, all have been invented in, developed, and/or made ubiquitous and well-functioning by the U.S. Some other countries may currently be ahead in some specific area or two, but I don’t know of any other country who’s had anywhere near the overall technological impact upon not only itself but upon the rest of the world as has the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/37 "2011-06-07T03:14:17Z")
I haven’t traveled internationally, so I can’t say. However my impression is the transportation in east asia (bullet trains as an example) and communications via internet and cell phones are far more advanced than the US. So the transportation network and communications are probably much better in S. Korea and Japan. Even though the US produces more science, we have about 7x more people than other OECD nations. So naturally we will have more science produced here. We are going to lead in space exploration because we have roughly 7x more scientists, engineers and taxpayers to fund space exploration than a nation like France, England or Germany Britain has a very advanced domestic spying network of CCTVs. You can argue that is advanced. France gets 80% of its grid energy from nuclear plants, that is more advanced than burning coal in the US. It is a hard question to answer. My bet is an east asian nation, esp China, will soon become the most advanced. Not only because it is east asian (and they seem to love their tech) but I think China is going to do what the USSR did and use science/technology as a bragging tool and way to make the rest of the world think they are advanced. So the newest techs will probably be picked up in China first. Which one has the most advanced medicine? I don’t know. I don’t know if there is even a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/38 "2011-06-07T04:41:25Z")
Japan usually gets nominated. As someone who has lived in Japan for about 10 years now I can safely say, “not Japan.” If you live here, you quickly find out that the technology is a thin veneer. It looks high-tech from a distance, but the illusion fails up close. The US has ubiquitous technology and more conveniences available than probably any other country. Japan lags severely in innovation. All of the top microprocessor designs originate in the US. NEC is way down the list of quality and performance. You can pay with your cell phone through [Suica](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suica) and similar systems at _some_ places in _some_ urban areas. But forget about trying to pay for anything with an ATM card, or even a credit card in most places, even in Tokyo or Osaka. It’s a 90% or more cash-only society. Contrast this with the US where even in the 80s most places had at least a credit card imprinter. Low-tech, but they accepted plastic. When I first left the US in 2000, even small shops had electronic credit card readers and ATM paypoint systems, while Japan had cash and ATMs that closed on holidays and just after regular banking hours. I live in the Tokyo area and still run into situations where a shop doesn’t accept anything but cash. At least the ATMs are mostly 24 hours now. Mostly. Even close to 4 years later, there’s nothing in the Japanese market that can match the iPhone. Japanese handsets had a lot of things first, but many of the selling points were useless fripperies like integrated TV, crashy Java applets, mobile-optimized internet ghettos, and sparkly decorations for high school girls to decorate digital photos with. Capabilities are bullet-point stats in an electronic dick-waving contest with other manufacturers. Ooh, it’s waterproof. Ooh, it has a 13-megapixel camera. Big deal. Usability lags, overall capabilities are uneven and include cool but mostly useless features. I mean, take a look at one of the [top](http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/product/foma/pro/sh06c/index.html) Pro series DoCoMo handsets. The biggest selling point is that it has an integrated projector. The OS looks like a bad knockoff of a knockoff of Android. The video recording capability (touted as a blu-ray recorder) is lower than the 720p on the iPhone 4. Smartphones like the iPhone or Android-based handsets are infinitely more expandable and capable, which is why many handset makers here are starting to adopt Android and make their own variants. Of course, both Android and iPhone are from US companies. You can stream and download HD video in the US, and have been able to for years. Japan is just getting started with that, and my guess is that it’ll take several years before there’s decent content available, if ever. Shit, DVDs are just now starting to sell for reasonable prices due to competition with blu-ray disks. Blu-ray just took over the price point DVDs used to occupy; around US$40–50. Washlets are very widespread, but I personally know a couple of people in Tokyo who had pit toilets up until at least a few years ago, the last time I visited. You read that right, they didn’t even have a sewer connection. Most homes might have a heated toilet seat that can spray your ass with heated water, but there’s probably someone a couple blocks away who still has a literal hole in the ground to shit in. If you’re lucky, you have a central water heater. Apartments built in the last 20 years or so do. But most of the houses I’ve lived in had local on-demand water heaters: usually one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom. All other faucets were unheated, including most bathroom sinks. Public bathrooms have no hot water most of the time. (At least they now provide toilet paper; when I first came here you had to buy tissue from a nearby vending machine or carry your own because none was usually provided. There’s no soap in most of the bathrooms either, but that’s not technology related either.) In space exploration, Japan lags behind the big three (US, China, Russia) and the EU space program. Hell, they arguably lag behind Mexico, according to the chart of capabilities on [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_space_agencies). If you just look at what the tech news guys write (who whack it to everything they see at an Asian technology show) you’d think that Japan is at the forefront of technology, but virtually everything is an iterative improvement on technology that originated elsewhere, usually in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/39 "2011-06-07T09:40:00Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Ah, I overlooked that. Yes, I concur, those muncher things don’t exist in most normal places here. For a good reason. They’re shit, always breaking down, and cause your kitchen to stink when they get clogged. There’s something to be said for not jumping all over every stupid technology when a £5 bin or compost heap does exactly the same job. (Yes, my parents had a waste disposal unit when I was young, but it didn’t last long.) ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2011, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401/40 "2011-06-07T09:43:42Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > It isn’t just that the US has these kinds of things, it is also that they work a lot better than the most common European versions of them. Take, for example, the British washer-dryer. A piece of crap machine that administers a mild waterboarding to dirty underwear to convince them to giving up a little bit of dirt after six hours of running time, leaving the owner with a somewhat moist pile of clothes ready to be put back into a marshy swamp. People in the UK usually spend more than £15 on their electrical appliances. You get what you pay for. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-technologically-advanced-country-in-the-world/584401.md?page=3)