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Private sector: This is your time. The free market has been waiting for you. You don't need the government to do this.

by gfosco 7y ago

noobermin 7y ago
The private sector has never funded low chance of return research, actually a few companies did but that was another time. That's what national labs are for.
- gfosco 7y ago
  When we're 23 trillion in debt, maybe the government should be reducing funding for low chance of return research too..
  - Ericson2314 7y ago
    Government debt in that state's own currency is not like household debt. Frankly, we shouldn't use the word "debt" for the former.
    - wuliwong 7y ago
      What word do you think should be used instead?
      - basementcat 7y ago
        Perhaps "Market Cap". A country that controls a currency that is used by many people outside its own borders is analogous to a cryptocurrency with a "proof of stake" consensus algorithm in which holders of sovereign bonds are rewarded with "interest". The central bank may periodically make policy pronouncements which may be analogous to various soft and hard forks (change of interest rate -> change of mining reward) which may impact the valuation relative to other currencies. Certain countries/currencies have a very long track record of not having very many "zero day vulnerabilities" and are therefore highly trusted and a first choice whenever there is a "flight to safety" (when panic strikes and there is demand for "safe" investments).
      - Ericson2314 7y ago
        oh, I didn't have one mind! I guess I'm solicitation alternatives :)
- apodysophilia 7y ago
  There are 3 private companies working on nuclear fusion right now. What has Argonne done in the past 50 years?
- 93po 7y ago
  Pharma does this all the time
  - fzeroracer 7y ago
    Pharma does this because they're almost guaranteed monopolistic control over their research which means that not only does it not return to the public benefit but it also means big pharma will prioritize profitable research over things like drugs for obscure diseases or small markets. As an aside, it's a shame posts like the OP get flagged. It's somewhat ironic on a site that encourages curiosity and scientific endeavors that you can't discuss the hollowing out of public scientific institutions.
mrlala 7y ago
Private sector: throw money into projects with low chance of success Yeah.. that's not how this works, generally.
Upvoter33 7y ago
This is so sadly out of touch of a comment, and yet probably represents the viewpoint of many. So many examples counter it, too. Just read about how CRISPR was discovered [0]. Do you think many companies would encourage the investigation of bacterial DNA patterns, just out of curiosity? [0] https://www.cell.com/fulltext/S0092-8674(15)01705-5 https://www.cell.com/fulltext/S0092-8674(15)01705-5 (admittedly, this is an MIT biased slant, but you get the point)

Private sector: This is your time. The free market has been waiting for you. You don't need the government to do this.

by gfosco 7y ago

Private sector: This is your time. The free market has been waiting for you. You don't need the government to do this.

The private sector has never funded low chance of return research, actually a few companies did but that was another time. That's what national labs are for.

gfosco 7y ago
When we're 23 trillion in debt, maybe the government should be reducing funding for low chance of return research too..
- Ericson2314 7y ago
  Government debt in that state's own currency is not like household debt. Frankly, we shouldn't use the word "debt" for the former.
  - wuliwong 7y ago
    What word do you think should be used instead?
    - basementcat 7y ago
      Perhaps "Market Cap". A country that controls a currency that is used by many people outside its own borders is analogous to a cryptocurrency with a "proof of stake" consensus algorithm in which holders of sovereign bonds are rewarded with "interest". The central bank may periodically make policy pronouncements which may be analogous to various soft and hard forks (change of interest rate -> change of mining reward) which may impact the valuation relative to other currencies. Certain countries/currencies have a very long track record of not having very many "zero day vulnerabilities" and are therefore highly trusted and a first choice whenever there is a "flight to safety" (when panic strikes and there is demand for "safe" investments).
    - Ericson2314 7y ago
      oh, I didn't have one mind! I guess I'm solicitation alternatives :)
apodysophilia 7y ago
There are 3 private companies working on nuclear fusion right now. What has Argonne done in the past 50 years?
93po 7y ago
Pharma does this all the time
- fzeroracer 7y ago
  Pharma does this because they're almost guaranteed monopolistic control over their research which means that not only does it not return to the public benefit but it also means big pharma will prioritize profitable research over things like drugs for obscure diseases or small markets. As an aside, it's a shame posts like the OP get flagged. It's somewhat ironic on a site that encourages curiosity and scientific endeavors that you can't discuss the hollowing out of public scientific institutions.

mrlala 7y ago

Private sector: throw money into projects with low chance of success Yeah.. that's not how this works, generally.

Upvoter33 7y ago

This is so sadly out of touch of a comment, and yet probably represents the viewpoint of many. So many examples counter it, too. Just read about how CRISPR was discovered [0]. Do you think many companies would encourage the investigation of bacterial DNA patterns, just out of curiosity? [0] https://www.cell.com/fulltext/S0092-8674(15)01705-5 https://www.cell.com/fulltext/S0092-8674(15)01705-5 (admittedly, this is an MIT biased slant, but you get the point)