> I am struck in particular by the 'expert --> idea' simulation. It suggests that an effective strategy for beating the competition to the punch in making a bre

> I am struck in particular by the 'expert --> idea' simulation. It suggests that an effective strategy for beating the competition to the punch in making a breakthrough discovery is to concentrate a diverse collection of expertise (it also explains why it pays to be very social in your career as a researcher). That's what Think Tanks and Research Divisions used to be, You'd put a bunch of smart people from different disciplines together, give them some money and a vague direction and stand back. Building 20 at MIT is another example I can think off, or the Collosus project during WWII (Tommy Flowers and Alan Turing where from radically different backgrounds - Turing was pure theoretical genius, Flowers was an apprentice mechanical engineer who put himself through night school to learn electrical engineer and then worked for the post office - together they (and others) built the Collosus Mk1).