DARPA is effective because, in many ways, it is sort of a research aggregator and packager, focusing basic research into solving specific problems. There's no H

DARPA is effective because, in many ways, it is sort of a research aggregator and packager, focusing basic research into solving specific problems. There's no HN without news elsewhere on the web, just like there's no DARPA without basic research in all the sciences. As such, it's budget should probably be somewhat proportional to the budget of basic research.