4 ms·

Unfortunately, at this point in time, I feel very strongly that these suggestions will lead you to do good science and end up without an Academic Research posit

Unfortunately, at this point in time, I feel very strongly that these suggestions will lead you to do good science and end up without an Academic Research position...at least, not initially. Personally, I think we need a revival of Franklin/Jefferson/Priestley/Watt type science, where the science is pursued for fun and interest, instead of for profit. The current petty competition for publications and grant money is the worst thing to happen to science.

sketerpot 18y ago
Maybe we should return university science to the Sputnik Golden Age style of funding: once you've shown that you know what you're talking about, you just get loads of funding and just publish papers to keep it coming. According to folks who were doing science back then, it was glorious; they could get work done so much faster! And just think of the international consequences. If the US became the land of easy funding, it would definitely keep a lot of foreign talent around. This sort of thing is a competitive advantage, and probably pretty cheap.
- tybris 18y ago
  Seems like the EU is making an effort http://www.few.vu.nl/~ast/ http://www.few.vu.nl/~ast/
asciilifeform 18y ago
> Franklin/Jefferson/Priestley/Watt type science, where the science is pursued for fun and interest Entire fields are now off-limits to individuals (even wealthy ones) due to bureaucracy. Even if you can afford to fork over, say, $25K for something as basic as an analytical balance, chemical supply houses are forbidden by US law to ship anything (even table salt) to a private residence. (Actually, the truth is more complicated - it is not prohibited per se, but most of them simply will not deal with a non-corporate/non-academic purchaser due to the required paperwork overhead not paying off.) Hobby electronics is still legal (for now - just wait until the War on Copyright Infringement approaches the scale of the War on Drugs.) But if your science requires professionally-manufactured precision equipment or even the simplest chemical feedstock, all bets are off.

sketerpot 18y ago

Maybe we should return university science to the Sputnik Golden Age style of funding: once you've shown that you know what you're talking about, you just get loads of funding and just publish papers to keep it coming. According to folks who were doing science back then, it was glorious; they could get work done so much faster! And just think of the international consequences. If the US became the land of easy funding, it would definitely keep a lot of foreign talent around. This sort of thing is a competitive advantage, and probably pretty cheap.

tybris 18y ago
Seems like the EU is making an effort http://www.few.vu.nl/~ast/ http://www.few.vu.nl/~ast/

asciilifeform 18y ago

> Franklin/Jefferson/Priestley/Watt type science, where the science is pursued for fun and interest Entire fields are now off-limits to individuals (even wealthy ones) due to bureaucracy. Even if you can afford to fork over, say, $25K for something as basic as an analytical balance, chemical supply houses are forbidden by US law to ship anything (even table salt) to a private residence. (Actually, the truth is more complicated - it is not prohibited per se, but most of them simply will not deal with a non-corporate/non-academic purchaser due to the required paperwork overhead not paying off.) Hobby electronics is still legal (for now - just wait until the War on Copyright Infringement approaches the scale of the War on Drugs.) But if your science requires professionally-manufactured precision equipment or even the simplest chemical feedstock, all bets are off.