Go West

The sun doesn't rise in the east.

Think about that.  Really wrap your mind around the concept.

Of course the sun doesn't rise in the east.  It's Earth that rotates and causes the illusion.  We all know this.  Yet, sunrises and sunsets are so ingrained in our social consciousness that we have trouble breaking free of them.

Civilization shifts westward.  While not an absolute trend, it's definitely a trend that is visible in history.  A lot of thought has been given to why this trend exists, but the most reasonable and testable hypothesis has to do with sunsets.

As the day goes on, the sun appears to sink into the west.  Like the sunrise, sunsets are built into our social culture and tend to represent the end of things: the end of the day, of a life, the passing on to something we cannot follow, etc.

So, it's only natural that those people who are seeking to break molds or to escape from the limits of their lives will chase the sun and try to reach that sunset.  That means moving westward.

So, this migration started in eastern Asia aeons ago and is "currently" at the West Coast of the US.  That has many people convinced that Japan/China/eastern Asia are next up for the migration, completing the loop and perhaps starting another.  But, if the true motivation is "chasing the sun", as it were - reaching beyond the limits of the known/current to something else - then that makes little sense.  Indeed, the supposed rise of Japan in the late 80's collapsed, and even China's "supremacy" of global markets at the moment is driven largely by unsustainable fiscal policy on the part of China's government.  India may be on the brink of tremendous famine thanks to a new wheat disease, and no other country in the region is set for major growth.

So, if we can't keep going west, but we have to go somewhere... the only place to go is out.

Time to *really* start chasing the sun, and get beyond sunrises and sunsets altogether.