Basic Research

Government isn\\’t that good

Government isn’t that good at rapid advancement of technology. It tends to be better at funding basic research. To have things take off, you’ve got to have commercial companies do it. Elon Musk

It\\’s basic research: shoot

It’s basic research: shoot an arrow in the air. Where it lands, paint a bullseye. Elizabeth Streb

Willis Rodney Whitney … once compared scientific research to a bridge being constructed by a builder who was fascinated by the construction problems involved. Basic research, he suggested, is such a bridge built wherever it strikes the builder’s fancy-wherever the construction problems seem to him to be most challenging. Applied research, on the other hand, … Read more

The hybridoma technology was

The hybridoma technology was a by-product of basic research. Its success in practical applications is to a large extent the result of unexpected and unpredictable properties of the method. It thus represents another clear-cut example of the enormous practical impact of an investment in research which might not have been considered commercially worthwhile, or of … Read more

Societies will, of course,

Societies will, of course, wish to exercise prudence in deciding which technologies that is, which applications of science are to be pursued and which not. But without funding basic research, without supporting the acquisition of knowledge for its own sake, our options become dangerously limited. Carl Sagan

I like to get

I like to get paid for doing basic research, so it’s pleasant to write some nonfiction about it. Bruce Sterling

We need to look

We need to look at less obvious paths, things like the wind in the jet stream, which is very high up. The material science of what type of kite string you would need to connect up to that. That’s still at the basic research level. Bill Gates

Government investment unlocks a

Government investment unlocks a huge amount of private sector activity, but the basic research that we put into IT work that led to the Internet and lots of great companies and jobs, the basic work we put into the health care sector, where it’s over $30 billion a year in R&D that led the biotech … Read more

Finally, assuming that many

Finally, assuming that many of those are fulfilled, which won’t be easy in tight budget times, we’re taking the supply side at the basic research level, because that’s where government is absolutely fundamental. Bill Gates

How much further beyond

How much further beyond basic research the role of the government should be, you could have a really good debate about it. Almost nobody would say it’s zero. But that’s where at least we need the private sector to play a big role. Bill Gates