America is Left in China's Wake

Since China's rise to power, it has gained substantial, economic prowess in the eyes of the rest of the world. After several advances through technology, aided by the government, China has bested America's supercomputer. This may seem like a small drop in the bucket for everyday people, but we forget to see the contributions that supercomputers make to our current society. 

The race to build the fastest supercomputer has become a source of national pride as these machines are valued for their ability to solve problems critical to national interests in areas like defense, energy, finance and science. Supercomputing technology also finds its way into mainstream business; oil and gas companies use it to find reservoirs and Wall Street traders use it for superquick automated trades. Procter & Gamble even uses supercomputers to make sure that Pringles go into cans without breaking.

Evident in those examples, the world in its present state could not function without the use of supercomputers. A month prior to this achievement, China had become the top manufacturer for green technology, but people are seeing now that it was only a precursor for what is to come.

“What is scary about this is that the U.S. dominance in high-performance computing is at risk,” said Wu-chun Feng, a supercomputing expert and professor at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. “One could argue that this hits the foundation of our economic future.”

 So what is next in store for America? Will we pool our resources to finance a better future? America cannot reach a state of complacency, simply because of China's shadow, but rather, be encouraged by the competition that China supplies.