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"Work hard". Okay, thanks. Actually, we already knew that--you know, the purpose of research is to discover how to reduce the amount of effort required for a g
by mynameishere 19y ago
"Work hard".
Okay, thanks. Actually, we already knew that--you know, the purpose of research is to discover how to reduce the amount of effort required for a given result. That is, "How do you move a boulder?" can be answered with "Work hard" or "Invent a bulldozer." ONE of those answers didn't require much hard work to conceive.
- mechanical_fish 19y agoThe problem is that the result that we're talking about -- becoming recognized as the top person in your field -- is a moving target. It's relative. In an absolute sense, research has very much reduced the amount of effort required to listen to world-class classical music in your home -- you used to have to practice until you could play like Mozart, but now you just buy an iPod and download high-quality recordings of the world's best musicians for a couple bucks. Researchers can also help you effortlessly beat the world chess champion -- they invented Deep Blue. (Soon to be available in laptop size at your local Best Buy.) We've even built decent simulations of the experience of playing a world-class rock guitar solo in front of thousands of fans (Guitar Hero II), coordinating an attack on a medieval fortress (World of Warcraft) and, yes, beating Tiger Woods at golf ("EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour '07"). But, of course, it's hard to be proud of these things. Our society still finds ways to respect the people who put in the hard work to actually be Tiger Woods, and who resist the temptation to just play golf on the Playstation like the rest of us.