James Bowery <[email protected]> wrote:
> You caught me in a technicality, Jed. The distinction between retirement > and tenure, especially in Fleischmann's case, is specious . . . It is not specious. He was doing cold fusion when he was still an acting professor. He did not do experiments because he never did them himself. He was not good in the lab. He always collaborated with a hands-on person, Pons in this case. > Whether it is independence that is the foundation of scientific > revolutions, or the "guidance" of our esteemed institutions. > Both. In many case such as aviation, independent researchers brought forth the technology. In the case of the Internet, Uncle Sam did it all. That was developed by civil servants on the government payroll. Transistors were the product of Bell Labs, one of the most esteemed mainstream institutions in history. Bell Labs also invented most other important telecom technology. Many other important breakthroughs such as lasers were developed independently but with government money. Most cold fusion breakthroughs are in this category: independent, but paid for mainly by governments. The project at U. Missouri, for example, is being paid for with private money, but the lab facilities and much of the funding is from U. Mo.'s incubator funding. It would never have happened if the state had not taken the initiative, under Duncan's leadership. - Jed
