The Golden Dome
The United States develops and, when needed, exports technologies that resemble the work of an advanced civilization. The rest of the world exports rice.
This isn’t a cultural inevitability—it’s a consequence of government policy failures elsewhere, particularly in education systems and the types of markets policymakers cultivate.
North American universities—especially in the United States—offer unmatched course diversity in mathematics and related fields at the undergraduate level. This stems from a liberal arts foundation, institutional autonomy, and a national emphasis on breadth, flexibility, and interdisciplinary exploration.
Whereas most education systems around the world focus on early specialization and narrow efficiency, the U.S. model champions exposure, curiosity, and late-stage focus.
Nowhere else offers the same combination of course variety, interdisciplinary integration, and late specialization as North America. And nowhere else can that intellectual capital be monetized and scaled like in the United States.
Canada may offer the same academic diversity—but without the market dynamism to fully unlock its potential.
We live in a technocratic world, and people heckle about sweatshop goods.
The true sign of an advanced society is to actually contribute to the new product categories. This is the significance of ‘the first’.
Who did it first?
First mover advantage?
This is extremely relevant when it comes to STEM.
Not iterative catchups.
As a policymaker, I would question my nation’s genetic pool if all we could produce were iterative catchups.
The world would be a better place if everyone was producing novel solutions to all problems all the time.
Completely variant of each other.
What is more novel to do: a Warren Buffett imitation or to be Jim Simons?
I like 1 of 1’s.
Are you familiar with Lockheed’s special division called Stunk Works? Akin to Apple’s Industrial Design time but for aerospace.
Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works is the company’s legendary advanced development division, renowned for pioneering some of the most significant and secretive aerospace projects in history.
This is the stuff people refer to when people have sightings of advance aircraft in Area 51.
Hold LMT 0.32%↑ for trade deals throughout the next 80 days.
Trump will likely announce a North American air defense system with Canada soon.
The U.S. has unveiled plans for the "Golden Dome," a next-generation missile defense initiative designed to counter advanced threats including hypersonic weapons, stealth drones, and low-flying cruise missiles. The system will integrate existing ground-based interceptors with a new layer of satellite-based tracking and interception technology.
The ambitious program is projected to cost up to $831 billion over the next 20 years. An initial $25 billion has been proposed in the upcoming federal budget to begin development and deployment.
Described as the most comprehensive U.S. missile shield since the Cold War, Golden Dome aims to provide real-time response capability to emerging airborne threats and reinforce national defense across all 50 states.