Preserving some sanity
2011; Springer Science+Business Media; Volume: 12; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1186/gb-2011-12-1-102
ISSN1465-6914
Autores ResumoA popular definition of insanity -frequently misattributed to Albert Einstein or Benjamin Franklin, but probably originating with novelist Rita Mae Brown in 1983 -is that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different outcome.If that definition is a good one, then I think there is a possibility that some of the people who run American science might want to start getting fitted for a new jacket -the kind where the sleeves wrap around the front and are tied together in back.Before I explain why I think that could happen, it's worthwhile going over some of the history of scientific funding in the United States in the past 40 years, to see how we got ourselves into the situation we're in now.In 1971, the US President, Richard Nixon announced a War on Cancer.In his State of the Union address in January of that year, he proclaimed: "I will also ask for an appropriation of an extra $100 million to launch an intensive campaign to find a cure for cancer, and I will ask later for whatever additional funds can effectively be used.e time has come in America when the same kind of concentrated effort that split the atom and took man to the moon should be turned toward conquering this dread disease.Let us make a total national commitment to achieve this goal." On December 23 that same year, he signed the National Cancer Act into law, declaring, "I hope in the years ahead we will look back on this action today as the most significant action taken during my Administration."Well, in retrospect, I think we can all agree that the Watergate cover-up probably turned out to be the most significant action of his Administration, but this one was right up there.
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