NYT: The received wisdom about Silicon Valley is that the region is single-mindedly dedicated to technological innovation. But that’s not quite right. The miracle of Silicon Valley is that it is a system finely calibrated to spit out new companies — some of which have come to be worth hundreds of millions, if not billions, within a few years’ time. Other locales have elite universities on a par with Stanford and Berkeley. The entrepreneurially inclined and brilliantly visionary can be found all around the world. But what distinguishes Silicon Valley from everywhere else is that it alone has Sand Hill Road, the Wall Street of venture capital.