>> But maybe there has to be some sort of perverse
>>incentive, like the profit incentive, to make people WANT to innovate and
>>do research in labs and produce widgets.
>right. so this explains why people innovated in the first place. there was
>no notion of profit at the time!!!!
>
>come on!
There is a big difference between the person who invented the wheel and the people who work in corporate labs.
People will always be creative and find new ways to do things. I've been talking about maintaining modern industry. I used to do research in IC reliability, and I didn't enjoy it. Most people I encountered in the field didn't enjoy it. They are doing it because it pays well. In fact a lot of my peers in grad school picked other careers after graduation. There are a few freaks who love it, and they can keep doing it if they like. But they were the exception to the rule. Are a few technophiles enough to keep pumping out the Pentium chips after the revolution? I don't know. Are there enough technophiles to keep doing the massive amount of work required to improve the Pentium chip for the next generation? I don't know. Personally I'd rather do without a computer.
Brett