President Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell address to the nation, warned of the dangers of the trend toward government sponsored science. He predicted that when the politicians have the ultimate say over who gets money for research, one can expect that political motivations and desired policy outcomes will inevitably result in biased efforts. Additionally, he feared that scientists eager to keep funds flowing might take control of public policy to benefit their own careers.
Ya think?
1. I understand that prior to WW2 and the bomb, research universities would not take money from the federal government because it could bias the research.
2. On one occasion the 90s, my thesis advisor was casting around looking for grant money for his team and made the comment that the Reagan administration had made it a requirement that all fed funded scientific research had to have some kind of beneficial goal to be funded – no “blue sky” stuff. AGW research fits into that requirement perfectly.
President Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell address to the nation, warned of the dangers of the trend toward government sponsored science. He predicted that when the politicians have the ultimate say over who gets money for research, one can expect that political motivations and desired policy outcomes will inevitably result in biased efforts. Additionally, he feared that scientists eager to keep funds flowing might take control of public policy to benefit their own careers.
Ya think?
1. I understand that prior to WW2 and the bomb, research universities would not take money from the federal government because it could bias the research.
2. On one occasion the 90s, my thesis advisor was casting around looking for grant money for his team and made the comment that the Reagan administration had made it a requirement that all fed funded scientific research had to have some kind of beneficial goal to be funded – no “blue sky” stuff. AGW research fits into that requirement perfectly.