THE PARADOX OF CHOICE 



show what is meant and at the same time give some confidence 

 in the remarkable results obtained when a mission is formulated 

 with the help of a general scientific theory. 



Physical theory shows the possibilities of real situations, 

 and particularly those which have not yet been realized. It 

 liberalizes the conduct of "directed" research by indicating 

 with the highest rationale and mental discipline that there is 

 just not necessarily one way to do something or one way to 

 achieve an essential or very desirable objective. This is the 

 principle that everywhere needs to be displayed in order to 

 couple the talents of the gifted research individualist with the 

 needs and aims of technology. The industrial technical leader 

 who insists that his research laboratory must turn out a better 

 conjugated unsaturated ester for paint drying and film forma- 

 tion will be surprised to see that new paints such as the acrylic 

 families involve neither unsaturation nor "drying" in the usual 

 sense. This, vou may hasten to say, is too close to technology 

 in the first place, but it need not be if the principles of adhesion 

 and of film formation are truly heeded even in so theatrically 

 homely an example as the paint industry. (We'll get to some 

 loftier examples soon, but the striking thing in this one is that 

 there is beginning to be some general theory.) Then the 

 interests of truly basic research on polymerization, on polymer 

 film properties, on rheology, and the physics of surfaces will be 

 available to that industry. 



Similarly, in the government and in the universities the 

 strategy of research continuing right through to development 

 and engineering technology is then too often enslaved by a 

 misconceived devotion to cause and effect. The freewheeling 

 individual researcher knows that he cannot trace in advance 

 step by step the measures necessary to invade a problem. It 

 is a foolish conceit for an industrial laboratory or a government 

 program, and, particularly, in military affairs for a technical 



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