Totally true; I glossed over the distinction between Bell and Bell Labs -- I suppose this might be analogous (with the full understanding that the analogy is in

Totally true; I glossed over the distinction between Bell and Bell Labs -- I suppose this might be analogous (with the full understanding that the analogy is incomplete) to separating Google[x] and Google. However, is it not the case that Bell Labs was able to undertake such ambitious research projects because it was backed by a monopoly? Also, while Xerox PARC was also a legendary research institution in its day, I don't put it at the scale of Bell Labs, which touched a much broader array of fields. To quantify this distinction, compare the research budgets in 2018 dollars: - Xerox PARC: ~$450 million (http://articles.latimes.com/2001/dec/12/business/fi-parc12 http://articles.latimes.com/2001/dec/12/business/fi-parc12) - Bell Labs: $6 billion (https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2015/08/comparing-research-budgets-of-1970s.html https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2015/08/comparing-research-bud...) These sources might be imperfect.