3 ms·
Has it ever been different? As long as science depends on funding, and funding always has (and always will) come from people who know and understand little of s
by xixi77 13y ago
Has it ever been different? As long as science depends on funding, and funding always has (and always will) come from people who know and understand little of science, so persuading them to part with their money, and to give it to your particular project, is quite an essential requirement -- although of course scientists are usually better off delegating that persuading to professionals.
- po 13y agoI can think of a range of models for getting funding for research: - convince a single person or small group knowledgeable in your field of study to invest in your research or fund it yourself - convince a non-profit that your research will have social impact - convince a corporation that your research will pay off - convince a government body knowledgeable in your field of study that then invests tax money on behalf of the general public - convince the general public to vote directly for your research with dollars You can be sure that the type of research that gets done is going to be different with each of these. Certainly the last two are going to be widely different even though they are both pulling funding from people who generally understand little about the science they are funding.
- xixi77 13y agoSure -- but I think (2), (4) and (5) are all forms of American Idol; all of these require persuasion of non-scientists, in case of (4) the persuasion simply happens at the point when the government body gets established and funded. And I'm not sure there is really such a big difference between (4) and (5) -- most of the time when we actually see general public funding science directly in any appreciable amount, it's done through some form of a private foundation that is not very different from a "government body knowledgeable in your field" in how it operates.