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Make you wonder if our industry's mind share being wasted on web apps and consumer gadgets because of the profit incentive associated? Engineers that work in d

Make you wonder if our industry's mind share being wasted on web apps and consumer gadgets because of the profit incentive associated? Engineers that work in defense/nasa/etc generally aren't on twitter, linkedin or facebook broadcasting, well, anything - you just don't hear about them unless you personally know some of these people. It's part of the job description to be private and avoid becoming a target of the media or a foreign nation. It also makes it difficult to stay in touch with colleagues when you're relegated to the rolodex-era of communication. Quite contrary to your statement, this world might be 1000 times better if the same engineers working on government programs were to work in the commercial sector, pushing the boundaries of tech that is accessible by everyday people.

Ma8ee 13y ago
You mean government programs like NASA? Yeah, these people should definitely work on robot vacuums and yet another tablet.
- epoxyhockey 13y ago
  I was mainly referring to DoD workers. NASA is a bit of an exception since many aspects of what they work on is public info. The point I was trying to make is that I imagine that these brilliant engineers wouldn't be focusing their efforts on iterative improvements to vacuums and tablets.
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  - Ma8ee 13y ago
    I do agree that it would be better if the DoD money was used for something more peaceful. On the other hand was the Manhattan project quite cool and DARPA-net turned out to become something quite useful. To be a bit more serious: I do consider the notion that private enterprises always are better to be stupid. For large projects the private bureaucracy are usually as big as the government ones. The private enterprises are with a few exceptions very shortsighted; that is why I joke about another tablet. Show me the company that put serious money into e.g. fusion.
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Ma8ee 13y ago

You mean government programs like NASA? Yeah, these people should definitely work on robot vacuums and yet another tablet.

epoxyhockey 13y ago
I was mainly referring to DoD workers. NASA is a bit of an exception since many aspects of what they work on is public info. The point I was trying to make is that I imagine that these brilliant engineers wouldn't be focusing their efforts on iterative improvements to vacuums and tablets.
- deleted 13y ago
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- Ma8ee 13y ago
  I do agree that it would be better if the DoD money was used for something more peaceful. On the other hand was the Manhattan project quite cool and DARPA-net turned out to become something quite useful. To be a bit more serious: I do consider the notion that private enterprises always are better to be stupid. For large projects the private bureaucracy are usually as big as the government ones. The private enterprises are with a few exceptions very shortsighted; that is why I joke about another tablet. Show me the company that put serious money into e.g. fusion.
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