000 04669nam a22009015i 4500
001 295885
003 IT-RoAPU
005 20230501182037.0
006 m|||||o||d||||||||
007 cr || ||||||||
008 210830t20172017nju fo d z eng d
019 _a(OCoLC)984664924
020 _a9780691174761
_qprint
020 _a9781400884629
_qPDF
024 7 _a10.1515/9781400884629
_2doi
035 _a(DE-B1597)9781400884629
035 _a(DE-B1597)479728
035 _a(OCoLC)968468635
040 _aDE-B1597
_beng
_cDE-B1597
_erda
072 7 _aSCI075000
_2bisacsh
082 0 4 _a507.2
_223
084 _aonline - DeGruyter
100 1 _aFlexner, Abraham
_eautore
245 1 4 _aThe Usefulness of Useless Knowledge /
_cAbraham Flexner.
264 1 _aPrinceton, NJ :
_bPrinceton University Press,
_c[2017]
264 4 _c©2017
300 _a1 online resource (104 p.)
336 _atext
_btxt
_2rdacontent
337 _acomputer
_bc
_2rdamedia
338 _aonline resource
_bcr
_2rdacarrier
347 _atext file
_bPDF
_2rda
505 0 0 _tFrontmatter --
_tContents --
_tThe World of Tomorrow --
_tThe Usefulness of Useless Knowledge --
_tAbout the Authors --
_tFurther Reading
506 0 _arestricted access
_uhttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec
_fonline access with authorization
_2star
520 _aA 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.
530 _aIssued also in print.
538 _aMode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
546 _aIn English.
588 0 _aDescription based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 30. Aug 2021)
650 7 _aSCIENCE / Philosophy & Social Aspects.
_2bisacsh
653 _aR&D.
653 _aSTEM.
653 _aSTS.
653 _aTOT.
653 _aTT.
653 _aadvances.
653 _aapplications.
653 _aapplied.
653 _abasic.
653 _ablue skies.
653 _acase against utilitarianism.
653 _adiscovery.
653 _afundamental.
653 _ahard science.
653 _ahard.
653 _ahistory of science.
653 _ahistory of technology.
653 _ainnovation.
653 _apure chemistry.
653 _apure mathematics.
653 _apure.
653 _aresearch and development.
653 _aresearch.
653 _ascience.
653 _asoft.
653 _atechnical innovation.
653 _atechnological revolution.
653 _atechnology transfer.
653 _atheoretical physics.
653 _atheoretical.
653 _atransfer of technology.
700 1 _aDijkgraaf, Robbert
_eautore
700 1 _aFlexner, Abraham
_eautore
850 _aIT-RoAPU
856 4 0 _uhttps://doi.org/10.1515/9781400884629?locatt=mode:legacy
856 4 0 _uhttps://www.degruyter.com/isbn/9781400884629
856 4 2 _3Cover
_uhttps://www.degruyter.com/cover/covers/9781400884629.jpg
942 _cEB
999 _c295885
_d295885