From: Joe E. Dees (jdees0@students.uwf.edu)
Date: Fri Aug 07 1998 - 19:33:00 MDT
Date sent: Fri, 07 Aug 1998 17:36:28 -0700
To: extropians@extropy.com
From: Max More <maxmore@primenet.com>
Subject: Re: Paul Davies' THE FIFTH MIRACLE
Send reply to: extropians@extropy.com
> At 10:04 AM 8/8/98 +0000, you wrote:
> >
> >For a decade, Paul Davies has been an Australian national treasure. Before
> >that, he was a British national treasure who fled Thatcher's UK because its
> >scientifically trained Prime Minister was so mean to science (and to
> >everyone else).
>
> I find this an odd use of "mean". Thatcher was mean only in the sense that
> she wanted to steal less money from tax-payers to give to scientists
> feeding at the public trough. I'd like to see *more* "meanness" of this
> kind. I'd rather scientists receive funding because they can persuade
> people to give them money voluntarily.
>
> On the other hand, perhaps I should complain about how mean the government
> is not to hand out free money to philosophers.
>
> Meany Max
I agree; philosophical R & D is much farther from a monetary payoff
than scientific R & D (this even holds true for pop science vs. pop
philosophy books). Nevertheless, all science has of necessity
philosophical underpinnings, philosophical speculations inspire
scientific experiments, and the results of scientific experimentation
are taken into account during philosophical revision.
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