According to Nature, 20 of the world’s top 23 universities in terms of research prowess are now in China. No matter how silly you think rankings are, this is nonetheless a stunning turn of events.

A couple decades from now historians are likely to look back and realize that the most significant story of the 2012-2030 period was not AI or Trump or Covid (or whatever) but rather China’s total displacement of the U.S. in terms of scientific prowess — with the attendant consequences for economic (and thus eventually geopolitical) power.