15 ms·

The information age is built on gathering raw data and doing pure research, neither of which are profitable activities. The implied threshold for wastefulness

The information age is built on gathering raw data and doing pure research, neither of which are profitable activities. The implied threshold for wastefulness here is offensively low; basically any project that might require one moderately competent PhD researcher for a year.

Fomite 9y ago
Even assuming that the 100K doesn't include indirect costs, and is only for one-year (and I'm not convinced either one of those assumptions is correct)...yeah, that's basically "All projects"
PixelB 9y ago
You hit the nail on the head, pure research is not a profitable activity. This is why we can't trust companies and corporations to research.. their motives are almost always profit driven. This only underlines the importance of government funded research, and the need to have a government in place who is willing to put the advancement of our society over their own personal gain (We don't have that right now..).
- bmmayer1 9y ago
  You're forgetting about the $1.9 trillion nonprofit sector, of which 15% is spent on health research, 12% on public + social benefit...[1] That seems to bely the need for a government that can fund research that 'puts the advancement of our society over their own personal gain.' [1]https://philanthropynewyork.org/sites/default/files/resources/The%20Nonprofit%20Sector%20in%20the%20United%20States%20Size%20and%20Scope.PDF https://philanthropynewyork.org/sites/default/files/resource...
  - chillwaves 9y ago
    Non-profit does not mean the system is working outside of capitalism or people are not making money.
    - bmmayer1 9y ago
      I don't understand your issue with people making money. Why should people not make money while doing beneficial research for humankind? Is there some reason why making money and helping people are mutually exclusive?
IIAOPSW 9y ago
Its not about waste. Its about the identity politics of coal miners and sticking it to "globalists".
- noobermin 9y ago
  Precisely, this is Trump trying to raise his poll numbers.

Fomite 9y ago

Even assuming that the 100K doesn't include indirect costs, and is only for one-year (and I'm not convinced either one of those assumptions is correct)...yeah, that's basically "All projects"

PixelB 9y ago

You hit the nail on the head, pure research is not a profitable activity. This is why we can't trust companies and corporations to research.. their motives are almost always profit driven. This only underlines the importance of government funded research, and the need to have a government in place who is willing to put the advancement of our society over their own personal gain (We don't have that right now..).

bmmayer1 9y ago
You're forgetting about the $1.9 trillion nonprofit sector, of which 15% is spent on health research, 12% on public + social benefit...[1] That seems to bely the need for a government that can fund research that 'puts the advancement of our society over their own personal gain.' [1]https://philanthropynewyork.org/sites/default/files/resources/The%20Nonprofit%20Sector%20in%20the%20United%20States%20Size%20and%20Scope.PDF https://philanthropynewyork.org/sites/default/files/resource...
- chillwaves 9y ago
  Non-profit does not mean the system is working outside of capitalism or people are not making money.
  - bmmayer1 9y ago
    I don't understand your issue with people making money. Why should people not make money while doing beneficial research for humankind? Is there some reason why making money and helping people are mutually exclusive?

IIAOPSW 9y ago

Its not about waste. Its about the identity politics of coal miners and sticking it to "globalists".

noobermin 9y ago
Precisely, this is Trump trying to raise his poll numbers.