The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge / / Abraham Flexner.
A short, provocative book about why "useless" science often leads to humanity's greatest technological breakthroughsA forty-year tightening of funding for scientific research has meant that resources are increasingly directed toward applied or practical outcomes, with the intent of cr...
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Superior document: | Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press Complete eBook-Package 2017 |
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Place / Publishing House: | Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2017] ©2017 |
Year of Publication: | 2017 |
Language: | English |
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Flexner, Abraham, author. aut http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge / Abraham Flexner. Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2017] ©2017 1 online resource (104 p.) text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier text file PDF rda Frontmatter -- Contents -- The World of Tomorrow -- The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge -- About the Authors -- Further Reading restricted access http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec online access with authorization star A short, provocative book about why "useless" science often leads to humanity's greatest technological breakthroughsA forty-year tightening of funding for scientific research has meant that resources are increasingly directed toward applied or practical outcomes, with the intent of creating products of immediate value. In such a scenario, it makes sense to focus on the most identifiable and urgent problems, right? Actually, it doesn't. In his classic essay "The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge," Abraham Flexner, the founding director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and the man who helped bring Albert Einstein to the United States, describes a great paradox of scientific research. The search for answers to deep questions, motivated solely by curiosity and without concern for applications, often leads not only to the greatest scientific discoveries but also to the most revolutionary technological breakthroughs. In short, no quantum mechanics, no computer chips.This brief book includes Flexner's timeless 1939 essay alongside a new companion essay by Robbert Dijkgraaf, the Institute's current director, in which he shows that Flexner's defense of the value of "the unobstructed pursuit of useless knowledge" may be even more relevant today than it was in the early twentieth century. Dijkgraaf describes how basic research has led to major transformations in the past century and explains why it is an essential precondition of innovation and the first step in social and cultural change. He makes the case that society can achieve deeper understanding and practical progress today and tomorrow only by truly valuing and substantially funding the curiosity-driven "pursuit of useless knowledge" in both the sciences and the humanities. Issued also in print. Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web. In English. Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 30. Aug 2021) SCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects. bisacsh R&D. STEM. STS. TOT. TT. advances. applications. applied. basic. blue skies. case against utilitarianism. discovery. fundamental. hard science. hard. history of science. history of technology. innovation. pure chemistry. pure mathematics. pure. research and development. research. science. soft. technical innovation. technological revolution. technology transfer. theoretical physics. theoretical. transfer of technology. Dijkgraaf, Robbert, contributor. ctb https://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/ctb Dijkgraaf, Robbert. Flexner, Abraham, contributor. ctb https://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/ctb Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press Complete eBook-Package 2017 9783110543322 print 9780691174761 https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400884629?locatt=mode:legacy https://www.degruyter.com/isbn/9781400884629 Cover https://www.degruyter.com/cover/covers/9781400884629.jpg |
language |
English |
format |
eBook |
author |
Flexner, Abraham, Flexner, Abraham, |
spellingShingle |
Flexner, Abraham, Flexner, Abraham, The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge / Frontmatter -- Contents -- The World of Tomorrow -- The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge -- About the Authors -- Further Reading |
author_facet |
Flexner, Abraham, Flexner, Abraham, Dijkgraaf, Robbert, Dijkgraaf, Robbert, Dijkgraaf, Robbert. Flexner, Abraham, Flexner, Abraham, |
author_variant |
a f af a f af |
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VerfasserIn VerfasserIn |
author2 |
Dijkgraaf, Robbert, Dijkgraaf, Robbert, Dijkgraaf, Robbert. Flexner, Abraham, Flexner, Abraham, |
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r d rd r d rd r d rd a f af a f af |
author2_role |
MitwirkendeR MitwirkendeR TeilnehmendeR MitwirkendeR MitwirkendeR |
author_sort |
Flexner, Abraham, |
title |
The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge / |
title_full |
The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge / Abraham Flexner. |
title_fullStr |
The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge / Abraham Flexner. |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge / Abraham Flexner. |
title_auth |
The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge / |
title_alt |
Frontmatter -- Contents -- The World of Tomorrow -- The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge -- About the Authors -- Further Reading |
title_new |
The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge / |
title_sort |
the usefulness of useless knowledge / |
publisher |
Princeton University Press, |
publishDate |
2017 |
physical |
1 online resource (104 p.) Issued also in print. |
contents |
Frontmatter -- Contents -- The World of Tomorrow -- The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge -- About the Authors -- Further Reading |
isbn |
9781400884629 9783110543322 9780691174761 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400884629?locatt=mode:legacy https://www.degruyter.com/isbn/9781400884629 https://www.degruyter.com/cover/covers/9781400884629.jpg |
illustrated |
Not Illustrated |
dewey-hundreds |
500 - Science |
dewey-tens |
500 - Science |
dewey-ones |
507 - Education, research & related topics |
dewey-full |
507.2 |
dewey-sort |
3507.2 |
dewey-raw |
507.2 |
dewey-search |
507.2 |
doi_str_mv |
10.1515/9781400884629?locatt=mode:legacy |
oclc_num |
968468635 |
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Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press Complete eBook-Package 2017 |
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The Usefulness of Useless Knowledge / |
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Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press Complete eBook-Package 2017 |
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