It’s not a long-standing pillar of either technological advancement or a robust return for investors. I’ll spare you the essay unless we really want to get into

It’s not a long-standing pillar of either technological advancement or a robust return for investors. I’ll spare you the essay unless we really want to get into it, but a book I’d recommend to anyone (“The Idea Factory” about the Bell Era in general and the Labs in particular) is both a must-read for any technologist and utterly demolishes that trope into the bargain.