From: Robert J. Bradbury (bradbury@aeiveos.com)
Date: Wed Apr 18 2001 - 16:49:51 MDT
ManuelOmar wrote:
> Yes, it's true that everybody and their dog will jump on something
> like that, to make money off it, but that doesn't change the fact
> that it's something that needs to be dealt with. We live in a commerical
> culture, everything has become commercialized, even science.
What culture are you talking about? I saw a PBS special last
night where Julia Robert's was participating in horse races
with Mongel tribesman. I wouldn't call her experiences of
their lifestyle particularly "commercial". (Though if you
could document that they got paid for the footage, you might
be able to win that argument.)
And if you really understood "science", you would understand
that quite a bit of it is still non-commercial. Commercial
entities have no incentive to develop solutions that eliminate
the need for a solution -- non-profits/foundations to
a large degree do have that incentive. That fundamental
difference is what may drive us towards permanent solutions
to specific problems. While a pharmaceutical company may
not relish the thought of one of their scientists claiming
"I am a god, I have cured polio" (think of Tom Hanks in the
movie Castaway), a politician certainly has an incentive to
play that role.
Robert
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