20 Comments
Sep 4Liked by Joel J Miller

The modern obsession with metrics to measure performance, productivity, and results, has transformed even the approach to pure research and the mindset of those involved in research (whose “efficiency” is continually evaluated). By transformed I mean it’s having a massive negative impact the full devastating extent of which will only be felt in the future.

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I think you’re right about that. Constantly measuring and always pressing for ROI is a challenge.

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Sep 4Liked by Joel J Miller

I've often wondered whether ideas are floating around, waiting to be discovered, or humans create them. Breakthroughs seem to happen when humanity is ready for them and/or needs them. Newton and Liebniz independently discovering the calculus at the same time is an example. Whatever the case is, I am thankful for geniuses who have the time to sit and ponder!

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New ideas are usually a novel combination of preexisting ideas. But they have to come from somewhere. It’s the cultural moment that usually makes the combination possible; I think that partially explains why different individuals can simultaneously arrive at similar or the same solutions.

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Collaboration now is not what it was a century ago. Who pays is a factor. Who profits is bigger--financially and credit. My Bible study procedures have included fiddling, curiosity, and asking questions; finding "useless" information as foundations for later "useful" breakthroughs. The rarest resource is people willing to join the institute.

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Who pays is a real consideration. Ideation requires resources, and with no immediate payoff it can be tricky to fund or otherwise facilitate.

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Working in an industrial research setting, the pressure to narrow to a solution as quickly as possible is unrelenting, and ROI is often king. I'm grateful for a little space to still explore ideas, and I love learning and collecting information. These days, most of my ideas revolve around making the company run better - inefficiencies EVERYWHERE, GAH...

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If you can read in efficiencies in one area, you can save resources for more ideation. At least in theory.

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Sep 5Liked by Joel J Miller

When I was reading Medieval History at Oxford in the late 1970s, I and a a few fellow Yanks founded the Institute for Useless Studies (L'Institut pour les Études Inutiles) in the Magdalen College Library. In order to be eligible for membership one had to be pursuing a degree with little or no potential for practical application or gainful employment (History, Literature, Classics, Philosophy, Music, etc.). Law, PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics), Medicine, or any of the Sciences were right out. Mathematics was a wobbler.

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I love that! Delightful.

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Excellent. Loved this - thank you Joel

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My pleasure!

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Sep 5Liked by Joel J Miller

The inventor of Gameboy, [I forgot the name], has an idea of lateral combination of withered technology. Sounds similar to cross pollination between different fields of knowledge to produce 'new' knowledge.

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That’s great! Thanks for the pointer. I’ll go check that out.

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Joel, Thanks for your article. You put it all together to explain the whole 'musings to cellphones and GPS satellites' progression. Very informative. Writings like this should be required reading in high schools. Maybe you've thought of writing a textbook? At any rate, I enjoyed this.

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You’re welcome, Paul! I don’t think I have a textbook in me, but I sure wish they’d teach this sort of thing in high school.

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Fascinating! Thanks for this, Joel.

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My pleasure!

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Sep 4Liked by Joel J Miller

Great article. That useless knowledge that may, in combination with other discoveries, lead to truly beneficial knowledge, was the idea behind the NRC (National Research Council) of Canada. But that function has been eroded over the years due to a more conservative and immediate results oriented approach to government oversight and funding.

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That’s a pity.

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