tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4385530254120896026.post7058295668420038591..comments2023-03-21T12:46:14.067-04:00Comments on Midgaard: Over the WallDon Monroehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14057058447791467875noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4385530254120896026.post-43086250600163752992009-12-06T19:19:01.316-05:002009-12-06T19:19:01.316-05:00There's an interesting book, "The Constra...There's an interesting book, <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/constraintsofcor00kant" rel="nofollow">"The Constraints of Corporate Tradition"</a>. It talks about how limited corporations are by what they think their goal or mission is.Greg Kochanskihttp://kochanski.org/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4385530254120896026.post-58862039230026518122009-09-01T23:03:00.214-04:002009-09-01T23:03:00.214-04:00Thanks, Karrie.
It is true that AT&T at the ti...Thanks, Karrie.<br />It is true that AT&T at the time was big enough that some developers had a "not invented here" attitude toward ideas from research in their own company. The Bell System was famous for its ponderous adoption of new technology. But when it was finally adopted, it did work!<br />I'm sure in some technologies that are less mature than integrated circuits it's easier to make big innovations without knowing as much about how things are done today. But I wonder what examples you had in mind?Don Monroehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14057058447791467875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4385530254120896026.post-29763861814814748142009-08-31T16:21:15.176-04:002009-08-31T16:21:15.176-04:00Hi Don,
I think that Bell Labs never figured out h...Hi Don,<br />I think that Bell Labs never figured out how to transfer technology...we had different time horizons, different languages and different reward systems then our developer friends. Other place were able to take some of the technologies and make a profit pretty quickly. We just had the wrong corporate culture to be nimble. - KarrieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4385530254120896026.post-82028328557602081642009-08-24T18:10:53.724-04:002009-08-24T18:10:53.724-04:00Thanks, Greg, good comment.
I largely agree, and ...Thanks, Greg, good comment.<br /><br />I largely agree, and I think that spreading seeds is a good thing for some people to do. But I do think they should be clear about how their research fits in.Don Monroehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14057058447791467875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4385530254120896026.post-71102349027941799412009-08-24T17:39:22.774-04:002009-08-24T17:39:22.774-04:00Don, you're absolutely right but also half wro...Don, you're absolutely right but also half wrong.<br /><br />As you say, any real breakthrough technology has hundreds of constraints that people in basic research don't understand. There is little hope that a brilliant idea will escape from a research lab and revolutionize any important technology by itself.<br /><br />But, who ever thought that science and technology really worked that way? That belief was merely a collective fiction to justify the existance of a research lab within a corporation.<br /><br />The reality is that anything that goes "over the wall" will need a lot of engineering, probably at least a decade's worth, before it becomes technology. Bell Labs in its later days didn't have time.<br /><br />The other reality is that many of the ideas that research labs come up with are really solutions waiting for problems. Until you find a problem that they can solve, they are useless. Only after you find the problem, they can be seen to be important.<br /><br />Looking at research as a way to get short-term advantage isn't a good idea. It's a long-term process and the benefits often turn up somewhere completely different from where the research was done.<br /><br />So, yes, the ideas went over the wall and the engineers couldn't use them. But they don't rust. They're seeds, not screwdrivers. Some of them will germinate, and then 30 years later an engineer will wander by and say "Wow, that's an odd fruit. I wonder if it's edible?"<br /><br />The metaphor should be that basic research is like Johnny Appleseed. He didn't make a profit, but he's remembered for his contributions.Greg Kochanskihttp://kochanski.org/blognoreply@blogger.com