Good point, but that's research, not general software development, which is what you were initially talking about. Software development is about implementation,

Good point, but that's research, not general software development, which is what you were initially talking about. Software development is about implementation, and less about research. That research paper is not the entirety of what's novel about google's search algorithm. It's more silly to assume the majority of computer engineering talent get on the megaphone when they've done something novel, many of them just aren't interested. Games developers leave it a couple of years before getting public about the nitty gritty of what they did. You know already which one this is going to be :) http://xkcd.com/664/ http://xkcd.com/664/