Shawn writes:

> I can't let this one pass without a question.  What strict inhibitory
>  rules?  You mean the government not willing to fund the research?  If it's
>  a miracle cure for everything, then private companies would be on it like
>  flies on, well you know.

You know in your heart of hearts, as well in your head, that that isn't true.
No private company has ever cured any major disease, other than perhaps the
heartbreak of psoriasis or toenail fungal infections, but certainly nothing of
true monumental consequence to the global population such as tuberculosis,
malaria, polio, smallpox, plague or hiv/aids.

All private companies are organized in approximately the same way that
Hewlett-Packard is. Could you even imagine HP embarking on a thirty-year study to
rid the world of spinal cord disorders? Private companies simply don't work that
way. They search through the margins of the world's research and glean what
they can, and in the end, produce better print cartridges.

Nor would you want to trust the research performed by private companies. At
every stage, there is strong pressure to improve the quarter's performance
figures, and if those expectations aren't met, there's intense pressure to replace
the vice presidents of those divisions.

You simply can't run research programs in that manner. The search for the
truth is never a straight line. Failure and error in science aren't sins. Rather,
they're an essential part of the process.

Wirt Atmar

* To join/leave the list, search archives, change list settings, *
* etc., please visit http://raven.utc.edu/archives/hp3000-l.html *