No, but investment property yes for now
Things that really bother you
- Thread starter Miragedriver
- Start date
vesicles
Colonel
Well, as many of you have known, Trump's 2018 budget proposal cuts NIH funding by almost 20%. If approved, this will be absolutely disastrous. Thousands of funded projects will be cut. That means potential cures for many diseases will be abandoned.
In desperate attempts to obtain funding, many scientists will have to abandon seemingly crazy ideas and "boring" basic science projects because they won't get funded. However, it is these crazy ideas and boring projects that seem to go nowhere at this moment will later on mature into revolutionary treatment strategies. With such a huge budget cut, these ideas won't get a chance to mature at all. Everyone will have to switch to something safe and something already well established to be funded.
The US is the most advanced nation in the world because it has the most advanced science and technology lead. To maintain such lead, you need to have a continuous evolutionary chain:
(1) every monumental breakthrough starts out as an idea that is seemingly irrelevant to anything in the real world. The idea is sometimes so crazy that even your colleagues will laugh you out of room.
(2) Then as you gather enough evidence to convince a small portion of colleagues, this irrelevant idea evolves into a boring basic science project that only excites the biggest nerds. At this point, the research is only sustained because "it does good science". Another way of saying "I can't find anything wrong in your data". "It makes logical sense, but it still makes no sense...". "what will all this mean even if you get it to work?" "I don't see this going anywhere...". "But I'm giving you the funding out of my shear generosity and because we have enough funding to go around..."
(3) Years and maybe decades later, a breakthrough is made! Colleagues in the field begin to appreciate your work. And they begin to say "wait a minute, there may be something to this idea...". "Maybe we should look at it as well..."
(4) after hundreds and maybe thousands of publications on this idea, people from other fields begin to notice and begin to connect the dots. And people begin to say "wait a minute, this theory may be able to explain this disease and that disease!" All of a sudden, an explosion! My Goodness! He/she has discovered how XYZ (some major diseases) works! Then huge funding flushing into this field. Everyone jumping onto the bandwagon.
(5) Scientists doing translational work and Pharmaceutical companies see the promising future. They begin to develop drugs that are based on this now established theory. Now you begin to see and hear about it in the public. TV shows begin to talk about it. People begin to discuss the possibility of a Nobel Prize.
(6) Drugs based on your now established theory go into clinical trials. And if you are super lucky and hold a patent on one of the drugs, you will get super wealthy...
Absolute every scientific breakthrough must go through these stages. No exception! No matter how big and how small the breakthrough is. As you can see, stages (1), (2) and (3) will only be allow to mature if there's plenty funding. And without (1), (2) and (3), you won't have (4), (5) and (6). This is why only developed nations have advanced science programs because only wealthy nations can afford to invest in enough "irrelevant" and "hopeless" and "crazy" ideas in stages (1), (2) and (3). And when you dump enough money into "useless" ideas, some of them will emerge and become breakthroughs that change the world.
Yes, science is a luxury only for spoiled people who have enough money to throw around. You certainly can't afford to think about science when you have to worry about putting food on the table tonight. However, if you look back at history at any point, advanced science is always what provides a civilization the means to gain and maintain superiority and supremacy.
My question is: is the US satisfied with being a mediocre country that has enough to feed its people, or does the US want to stay as the supreme leader in the world? If the answer is the latter, the only way to do that is through science and technology. Why? Because science is a luxury that only wealthy nations can afford. That makes science one of the few advantages only available to wealthy nations. Abandon it, you abandon your advantage and you abandon your place in the world.
In desperate attempts to obtain funding, many scientists will have to abandon seemingly crazy ideas and "boring" basic science projects because they won't get funded. However, it is these crazy ideas and boring projects that seem to go nowhere at this moment will later on mature into revolutionary treatment strategies. With such a huge budget cut, these ideas won't get a chance to mature at all. Everyone will have to switch to something safe and something already well established to be funded.
The US is the most advanced nation in the world because it has the most advanced science and technology lead. To maintain such lead, you need to have a continuous evolutionary chain:
(1) every monumental breakthrough starts out as an idea that is seemingly irrelevant to anything in the real world. The idea is sometimes so crazy that even your colleagues will laugh you out of room.
(2) Then as you gather enough evidence to convince a small portion of colleagues, this irrelevant idea evolves into a boring basic science project that only excites the biggest nerds. At this point, the research is only sustained because "it does good science". Another way of saying "I can't find anything wrong in your data". "It makes logical sense, but it still makes no sense...". "what will all this mean even if you get it to work?" "I don't see this going anywhere...". "But I'm giving you the funding out of my shear generosity and because we have enough funding to go around..."
(3) Years and maybe decades later, a breakthrough is made! Colleagues in the field begin to appreciate your work. And they begin to say "wait a minute, there may be something to this idea...". "Maybe we should look at it as well..."
(4) after hundreds and maybe thousands of publications on this idea, people from other fields begin to notice and begin to connect the dots. And people begin to say "wait a minute, this theory may be able to explain this disease and that disease!" All of a sudden, an explosion! My Goodness! He/she has discovered how XYZ (some major diseases) works! Then huge funding flushing into this field. Everyone jumping onto the bandwagon.
(5) Scientists doing translational work and Pharmaceutical companies see the promising future. They begin to develop drugs that are based on this now established theory. Now you begin to see and hear about it in the public. TV shows begin to talk about it. People begin to discuss the possibility of a Nobel Prize.
(6) Drugs based on your now established theory go into clinical trials. And if you are super lucky and hold a patent on one of the drugs, you will get super wealthy...
Absolute every scientific breakthrough must go through these stages. No exception! No matter how big and how small the breakthrough is. As you can see, stages (1), (2) and (3) will only be allow to mature if there's plenty funding. And without (1), (2) and (3), you won't have (4), (5) and (6). This is why only developed nations have advanced science programs because only wealthy nations can afford to invest in enough "irrelevant" and "hopeless" and "crazy" ideas in stages (1), (2) and (3). And when you dump enough money into "useless" ideas, some of them will emerge and become breakthroughs that change the world.
Yes, science is a luxury only for spoiled people who have enough money to throw around. You certainly can't afford to think about science when you have to worry about putting food on the table tonight. However, if you look back at history at any point, advanced science is always what provides a civilization the means to gain and maintain superiority and supremacy.
My question is: is the US satisfied with being a mediocre country that has enough to feed its people, or does the US want to stay as the supreme leader in the world? If the answer is the latter, the only way to do that is through science and technology. Why? Because science is a luxury that only wealthy nations can afford. That makes science one of the few advantages only available to wealthy nations. Abandon it, you abandon your advantage and you abandon your place in the world.
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Blackstone
Brigadier
@vesicles - agreed with what you said. On the other hand, you'll have to get in line to protest Trump's proposed 2018 budget, because before you could have world-class research, you have to have a safe and security environment. President Donald J. Trump budget increased defense spending by about 10%, while cutting State Department by around 29%. In other words, 10% more generals and admirals, with 29% fewer diplomats. This isn't going to end well.
AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
Noise pollution!
What is really bugging me lately is when radio and TV especially around news broadcasts have background noises that sound like tones you hear from your personal devices. You instinctively react to it. When you're driving, that's more dangerous. When radio news has traffic reports they always have car honking background sound effects which sometimes sounds real.
What is really bugging me lately is when radio and TV especially around news broadcasts have background noises that sound like tones you hear from your personal devices. You instinctively react to it. When you're driving, that's more dangerous. When radio news has traffic reports they always have car honking background sound effects which sometimes sounds real.
Public school start dates and not traditional year-round schools.
The school year started today here in Cedar Rapids IA. It's way too early. Can't they wait until the day after labor Day? the first Monday in September in case you did not know. That's the traditional first day. In fact by Iowa law that is the day schools should start. But guess what? they don't. They ALL get a waiver...yea I only have grandkids in school but it still bugs me.
Don't even get me started on year round schools!
The school year started today here in Cedar Rapids IA. It's way too early. Can't they wait until the day after labor Day? the first Monday in September in case you did not know. That's the traditional first day. In fact by Iowa law that is the day schools should start. But guess what? they don't. They ALL get a waiver...yea I only have grandkids in school but it still bugs me.
Don't even get me started on year round schools!
Amen, I've been driving the bus a week and a half, and I'm already counting the days till May! You're exactly right, these stooped schools have robbed families and children of the most precious weeks of August, and the beautiful Labor Day week end to cap off the summer....
Year round school would definitely drive students, teachers, and support staff NUTSO!
those last beautiful weeks of summer were a time of preparation for the school year, and a finale on the "Summer Vacation",, my very nice neighbor, who was a member of the school board suggested that the "board" was seriously considering year round school,,,, I shocked the KRAP out of him, by looking him in the eye and stating, "If they do that? I,ll blow the school up myself, LOL", summer vacation was the only thing that kept me sane!
Its mostly about "Friday Night Football",,, I don't even like football, and thanks to Colin Kapernick,,, well folks have given up on Pro Football...
as for the kneelers they're,,, well they're not patriots, that's for Damn Sure!
A very good question Solarz,, most school districts in America are under local control, as well they should be! but they have all these federally mandated requirements that they must meet? So in order to receive federal money, the school must be in session so many days, due to poor results in national testing?? that number of days continues to go up.
The problem here in Central Illinois is that regional athletic associations won't allow football/soccer/volleyball practice to start until 2 or 3 weeks before school... so they have run the start of school back into August in order to begin organized practice earlier?? Crazy, but that's life here in the heartland..
High School Sports are BIG, and carry a lot more influence than they should??? We do get out a little earlier if we don't have to take "snow days"?
We started school the 13th of August for teachers and support staff, and had students on the 14th, ridicules
vesicles
Colonel
At my old high school in Texas, we used to take the Xmas break, then came back and took the finals for the Fall semester in January. After the finals, we had one day off. Then the Spring semester started...
Not sure if they still do it this way. It's so stupid. We hated it so much. No one can spend the holidays peacefully knowing that you will have the finals coming up in a week...