The Eagle Has Landed

[kurtsprincess]

If we invested that much in basic science or even ocean exploration they could have come up with that stuff and learned something worthwhile at the same time.

Hey now, dillo........velco is worthwhile!!! How else could we have replaced the untied shoe lace phenom of the current slackers?

I'm for putting a strip of that on all teenagers' backside to keep their pants up where they belong........however, it is pretty funny to see them fall down in the middle of the street because their crotch was so low it tripped them. :rotflmao:

 

[kurtsprincess]

Baloney. The Theory of General Relativity emerged from basic research. Quantum Mechanics is a product of basic research. The discovery of DNA came from basic research. The sequencing the human genome was basic research. The Theory of Natural Selection came from basic research. The discovery of Plate Tectonics emerged from basic research. It's a good thing you are not handing out the NSF grants for basic research.

I think we are talking about ROI, not whether the results are important.

Wonder what the stats would be.....but that would require research.......ummm.....perhaps I should submit a request for a grant.

 

[onedomino]

I think we are talking about ROI, not whether the results are important.

Wonder what the stats would be.....but that would require research.......ummm.....perhaps I should submit a request for a grant.

I was disputing the statement: "Funding basic non-applied research science.....well you just end up getting a slew of scientists who endlessly investigate minutae that interests no one but themselves and has no useful application. You can trust me on that." But since you brought up ROI, what would be the ROI on Quantum Mechanics? For starters you would need to include the ROI on the manufacture of everything that uses an integrated circuit. Got an exponential calculator? Oh wait...that would require an integrated circuit. Without the basic research that developed Quantum Mechanics, applied research regarding the hardware and software of electronic computers would not exist. Without the development of Quantum Mechanics, the internet would not exist and you would be reading this message on a piece of paper.

 

[Zhukov]

Baloney. The Theory of General Relativity emerged from basic research. Quantum Mechanics is a product of basic research. The discovery of DNA came from basic research. The sequencing the human genome was basic research. The Theory of Natural Selection came from basic research. The discovery of Plate Tectonics emerged from basic research. It's a good thing you are not handing out the NSF grants for basic research.

Well, we're talking about government funding here.

Einstein developed General Relativity without funding. When government money began to be spent on the concepts it was in order to build an atomic bomb. Hence applied.

If the development of Quantum Mechanics received any funding at all it would have been in the form of grants some 70 years after Planck and 50 years after Heisenburg.

Watson and Crick did their work at Cambridge.

I wouldn't call the sequencing of the human genome basic research. And though it was funded by government agenices from a number of countries, including our DoE, it was also done by the private firm in about a fourth the amount of time and a tenth of the cost.

Most of plate tectonic theory was developed by professors.

How much of this is strictly research science? Not much of it.

And any piece of purely government funded research that has produced useful results is probably the exception more than the rule.

I'm just saying government shouldn't fund plain old research. Government should provide problems to scientists and pay them to solve the problems, or pay scientists who are there to solve problems provided by the people. That is in my opinion a more constructive use of tax payer dollars.

Even giving money to colleges is debatable. I think any college worth going to probably already has more than enough money.

But that sort of indirect funding of research is probably more effective than the direct funding of research.

 

[dmp]

Actually, it was 36 years and one day ago, from when this thread was started.



Excellent, however...interesting info, too!

 

[Zhukov]

Actually, it was 36 years and one day ago, from when this thread was started.

How do u figure?

 

[dmp]

How do u figure?

Much the same way on our 'birthday' we're actually 366 days old.

The first day is 'one'. 365 days later, is the date prior.

Stupid technicality, but I think I'm correct.



See, you're smarter than i am...so I look for stupid things like that...cuz i'm insecure? lol

 

[Zhukov]

The first day is 'one'.

Only when it's over.