Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Ustwo
... I have complete faith that at some point we will find alternative energy sources which do everything you are looking for, but scientific progress isn't just based on need and money. Discoveries and ideas are more luck and rare genius, and limiting ourselves prematurely doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
|
At some point, we would have developed the atomic bomb through luck and rare genius....but the $2 billion ($28 billion in '08 dollars) federal investment between 1939-44 certainty helped produce it in time to make a difference in WW II.
At some point, we would have competed successfully against the Soviets in the space race through luck and rare genius....but the $23 billion federal investment in the decade of the 60s certainly propelled the US ahead.
Scientific progress to support the national interest is absolutely based, in part, on need and money. Luck and rare genius is a luxury when time is not an issue.