ALAN T. WATERMAN 



Science, the Endless Frontier, which he was asked to make 

 by President Roosevelt. In that report, Bush said "Basic research 

 is performed without thought of practical ends. . . . [It] leads 

 to new knowledge. It provides scientific capital." Indeed, in 

 my opinion, the following statement from the same source 

 probably sums up admirably the purpose for which this sym- 

 posium was called: 



... it is important to emphasize that there is a perverse law 

 governing research: Under the pressure for immediate results, and 

 unless deliberate policies are set up to guard against this, applied 

 research invariably drives out pure. 



The moral is clear: It is pure research which deserves and re- 

 quires special protection and specially assured support. 



In fact, it is this Bush analogue of Gresham's law which, 

 in my belief, underlies and makes essential special emphasis 

 upon basic research, by whatever name it is called. The original 

 name given to basic research was usually "pure," which had 

 obviously unfortunate connotations. The definition used by the 

 National Science Foundation in its fact-gathering surveys has 

 been : 



Basic research is that type of research which is directed toward 

 increase of knowledge in science. It is research where the primary 

 aim of the investigator is a fuller knowledge or understanding of 

 the subject under studv, rather than a practical application thereof. 



This definition has stood the test of time fairly well. One 

 objection commonly heard, however, is: How can one deter- 

 mine the investigator's motives? The simplest answer is that 

 if one feels he must make a psychiatric test of an individual 

 to determine why he wants to do a piece of research, then it 

 is undoubtedly basic. 



Beginning of Government Support 



Although basic research has been cultivated in the United 

 States for many decades, its growth did not particularly acceler- 



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