SCIENCE SERVING THE NATION — DUBRIDGE 181 



the better. And if, once in 10 years, two scientists happen to run 

 onto the same discovery at the same time this is good, not bad, for it 

 gives an immediate confirmation of the validity of the finding. As 

 long as science is carried on in the open, not in secrecy, then duplica- 

 tion is, by the very nature of science, nonexistent — indeed it is 

 impossible. 



But the duplication idea leads to another illusion: that science 

 will be more efficient or effective if it is all under one management. 

 To move in this direction, when Congress increased the National 

 Science Foundation funds this year, it imposed an almost equal de- 

 crease in the funds allocated to other agencies. This, it seems to me, 

 was unfortunate, for it caused disruption of existing programs and 

 a net decrease in the amount of research in progress. In science — as 

 in education — diversity is our most precious asset. No single agency 

 with a particular policy, a particular progi-am, a particular group 

 of advisers, and a particular staff can possibly accommodate all the 

 diverse needs of science. It is almost as bad as trying to decree that 

 all children should have the same father. 



So I suggest that in the field of basic research we all have an 

 educational job to do. We need to convince the public of the value 

 of encouraging basic reasearch. We need to convince both the execu- 

 tive and legislative branches of the Government that all agencies con- 

 cerned with science and technology should encourage and support 

 basic reasearch in their own laboratories and in universities ; that the 

 more agencies that are doing it the more effective and productive 

 our program will be ; that the dividends which will be repaid in new 

 knowledge, in additional scientists trained, and in more scientists 

 brought into contact with the Government will be worth a thousand 

 times the investment. The dividend may indeed be the survival of 

 the Nation. 



Let us now turn to some problems of applied research conducted 

 by the Government — confining our attention to research carried out 

 for military purposes by the Defense Department and the AEG. 



Applied research is in many ways a very different animal from basic 

 research. It is true that the scientific training required is much the 

 same and that quite similar techniques and equipment are involved. 

 But the eastbomid and westbound sections of a streamlined train 

 look similar too. It's just that they are not headed for the same place. 



Applied research is research aimed at a goal, i. e., a better or im- 

 proved weapon, a new industrial product, a cure for a disease. Be- 

 cause the goal is established or agreed upon (this is important of 

 course I) it is possible to organize the attack on the problem, to assign 

 a number of specific tasks or areas of investigation to different indi- 

 viduals or groups. In contrast to basic research it is desirable in 



