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>> Any time "science" supports large corporations making a lot of money, you should look more carefully. Is there anything, any issue, that doesn't involve lar

>> Any time "science" supports large corporations making a lot of money, you should look more carefully. Is there anything, any issue, that doesn't involve large corporations making lots of money? If we second-guess science just because it profits some corporation with a product to sell then we won't ever get around to making real changes. California just halted sales of small IC engine (leave blowers and the like). That's a boon for all sorts of battery makers. But it is still a small step in the right direction.

xxpor 5y ago
Who was funding the physicists and chemists in the extremely productive 1880-1940 era? I know it was universities, but who was funding them? Genuinely have no idea how things worked back then, especially in Europe.
- rsj_hn 5y ago
  Industry was funding most of them, not universities. Because they were interested in all of the various applications to metallurgy, design of engines, new compounds and medicines, etc. To the degree that the public funded research, it was military labs and industries contracted by the military. The idea of universities funding basic research really took off in the postwar era when we funneled trillions of dollars into universities, massively expanding them and reshaping them. Prior to that, universities were much smaller and did not have a substantial body of faculty doing research, they focused on education and training. In modern universities, the faculty focuses on research and teaching is done by teaching assistants and non-tenured faculty, often working on short term contracts. That is all a consequence of the flood of government grants unleashed after the 1940s. Prior to the 1940s, most research was done by private enterprise or the military.
forgotmypw17 5y ago
I think the biggest takeaway here is not for society as a whole, nor for those involved in "science" directly, but for the individuals, families, tribes, small communities, and caretakers. Progress is inevitable, and so is the damage from it. This article is a guide on how to stay out of the way and avoid being trampled by its wheels.
lovethyenemy 5y ago
>Is there anything, any issue, that doesn't involve large corporations making lots of money? Preventative health practices, especially those utilizing simple, unpatentable, natural tools and techniques.

xxpor 5y ago

Who was funding the physicists and chemists in the extremely productive 1880-1940 era? I know it was universities, but who was funding them? Genuinely have no idea how things worked back then, especially in Europe.

rsj_hn 5y ago
Industry was funding most of them, not universities. Because they were interested in all of the various applications to metallurgy, design of engines, new compounds and medicines, etc. To the degree that the public funded research, it was military labs and industries contracted by the military. The idea of universities funding basic research really took off in the postwar era when we funneled trillions of dollars into universities, massively expanding them and reshaping them. Prior to that, universities were much smaller and did not have a substantial body of faculty doing research, they focused on education and training. In modern universities, the faculty focuses on research and teaching is done by teaching assistants and non-tenured faculty, often working on short term contracts. That is all a consequence of the flood of government grants unleashed after the 1940s. Prior to the 1940s, most research was done by private enterprise or the military.

forgotmypw17 5y ago

I think the biggest takeaway here is not for society as a whole, nor for those involved in "science" directly, but for the individuals, families, tribes, small communities, and caretakers. Progress is inevitable, and so is the damage from it. This article is a guide on how to stay out of the way and avoid being trampled by its wheels.

lovethyenemy 5y ago

>Is there anything, any issue, that doesn't involve large corporations making lots of money? Preventative health practices, especially those utilizing simple, unpatentable, natural tools and techniques.