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From: gwyn@brl-tgr.ARPA (Doug Gwyn <gwyn>)
Newsgroups: net.analog
Subject: Re: Room-Temperature Superconductors
Message-ID: <2073@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 11-Oct-85 19:47:28 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.2073
Posted: Fri Oct 11 19:47:28 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 14-Oct-85 05:42:08 EDT
References: <287@weitek.UUCP>
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab
Lines: 12

> Do Americans tackle such goals anymore?  What's happened to our scientific
> resolve?  Do we just pursue straight-line research?  Do we just care about
> next quarter's bottom line?  I'm jealous.  You should be, too.

Most scientific research in the U.S. is federally-funded.
This means that long-term goals are heavily influenced by
politics and "public policy", rather than by the natural
course of scientific investigation itself.

There is a very good study of the consequences of government
intervention in one area of science research: "The
Apocalyptics", by Edith Efron.  Your bookstore may stock this.