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Originally Posted by dc_dux
Your notion that scientific breakthrough often happens by pure accident may be correct, but quaint its in assumption that its some guy fiddling around in his basement workshop. That may have been correct in Edison's time.
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It would be quaint, but I never said that. Normally its some guy in a lab, trying to do one thing and seeing something else and saying 'what the hell is that?'
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In more recent times, many (most?) scientific developments and breakthroughs occur in university research settings supported by government funding.
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Well I can't say if its most or not, trying to quantify breakthroughs is a bit hard.
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Biotech breakthroughs and the resulting emergence of a new biotech industry in the last 20-30 yeras is a good example. The problem that stiffled private development of those breakthroughs was that, if it was federally funded, the feds owned the patent. That changed in 1980 with the Bayh-Dole Act:
That three-way partnership was critical to the growth and success of the biotech industry....even with the downside noted in the article.
The same would apply to many other industries.....nanotechnology, alternative energy, etc. Government funding in university research settings serves as the foundation for growth and development.
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You recall this thread was about trusting the free market, and here obviously we needed the market in order to do anything with various breakthroughs. Coming up with the idea is the first half, making it practical, affordable, and usable is the second half.