Or: It doesn't matter how many billions you spend on a problem if the core technology isn't there. Scientific discovery advances based on curiosity and open exp

Or: It doesn't matter how many billions you spend on a problem if the core technology isn't there. Scientific discovery advances based on curiosity and open experimentation. That even includes when we "know" how to do the things but its not miniaturized enough yet. Imagine being a company tasked with inventing the walkman 10 or 15 years before it was possible. You'd end up with some crazy designs.