Re: Challenging the laws of physics

[Chris Horton <chrisahorton2@HOTMAIL.COM>]

> From: Bernard Cleyet <anngeorg@PACBELL.NET>

...
> Here is an example of "inefficiency" of competition as opposed to
> cooperation.
>
> bc  who wonders if, in a socialist society, P & F would have turned to the
> NPR
> group?

All right, I'll bite.

Our university communities are about as close as you can get to socialist
societies in the "Western World", albeit with many influences, intrusions
and infusions of cash from the capitalist world in which they are embedded.
The socialist enterprises of the late great "socialist world" certainly were
not immune to self-delusion, self-agrandizement, gullibility, cupidity or
stupidity, and neither are the universities, although the institution of
peer review provides a powerful check on some of the worst abuses.  So
probably the same sorts of things would happen again.

Which brings me back to my point.  Our leaders, political, business and
academic, whether capitalist or socialist, need to understand science, and
physics in particular, much better than they now do.  So do our voters and
our investors.  Not to mention our education school, business school, social
science and humanities faculties.  Our courses - in the midele schools, high
schools and colleges - have not attracted them in sufficient numbers or
educated them very well. This is our challenge.

Chris Horton

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