Finance Logology (science of science)

nathan myhrvold

nathan myhrvold, former microsoft chief technology officer , founder of microsoft research, asserts financing of basic science cannot left private sector—that without government resources, basic science grind halt.

myhrvold notes albert einstein s general theory of relativity, published on 2 december 1915, did not spring full-blown brain in eureka moment. worked @ years—finally driven complete rivalry mathematician david hilbert.

examine the... history of iconic scientific discovery or technological invention—the lightbulb, transistor, dna, internet—and ll find famous names credited breakthrough few steps ahead of pack of competitors. writers , elected officials have used phenomenon, called parallel innovation, argue against public financing of basic research.[...] government [it has been asserted] should leave companies finance research need.

[such] arguments dangerously wrong. without government support, basic scientific research never happen. true kind of pure research has delivered [...] great intellectual benefits no profits, such work brought higgs boson, or understanding supermassive black hole sits @ center of milky way, or discovery of methane seas on surface of saturn s moon titan. company research laboratories used kind of work: experimental evidence big bang discovered @ at&t s bell labs, resulting in nobel prize. days gone.

even in applied fields, such materials science , computer science, companies understand basic research form of charity—so avoid it. scientists @ bell labs created transistor, invention earned billions intel (and microsoft). engineers @ xerox parc invented modern graphical user interface, although apple (and microsoft) profited most. ibm researchers pioneered use of giant magnetoresistance boost hard-disk capacity lost disk-drive business seagate , western digital.

when myhrvold created microsoft research, , bill gates clear basic research not mission. unless researchers focused narrowly on innovations turned revenues, r&d budget not justified investors. business logic @ work here has not changed. believe profit-driven companies altruistically pay basic science has wide-ranging benefits—but others , not generation—are naive.

myhrvold concludes:

if government leave private sector pay basic research, science come screeching halt. research survived done largely in secret, fear of handing next big thing rival. in situation, einstein might never have felt need finish greatest work.