> It's a pretty cynical viewpoint that sees funding for science as only an > investment with an expected financial return.
good point. BUT (and there's always a butt) Some of the first guys to create open source software also created a company to support open source software. Sure the software is free, but the expertise needed to provide support is not free. Therefore, they make money on the software. So here we are back to money making being the driving force behind most things. I agree, there are probably a few pieces of research out there for the advancement/development of the sciences, but most of it is probably for somebody to make money. bb
