Why is Silicon Valley so darn successful?

The New Scientist this week has an interesting article on why Silicon Valley is so successful. It also warns that as transistor size goes down, the probability of error due to alpha particle radiation from the environment and the chip's casing itself increases. Finally, for those that are interested in climate change, there's a daily report from the Buenos Aires conference. Update It appears they've been slashdotted. It worked when I read the article. Perhaps tomorrow...