Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ubc-cs.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utcsri!ubc-vision!ubc-ean!ubc-cs!acton
From: acton@ubc-cs.UUCP (Donald Acton)
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Re: Federal support(?) of science
Message-ID: <1120@ubc-cs.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 25-Jun-85 02:41:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: ubc-cs.1120
Posted: Tue Jun 25 02:41:53 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 25-Jun-85 20:42:40 EDT
References: <1589@dciem.UUCP> <1118@ubc-cs.UUCP>
Reply-To: acton@ubc-cs.UUCP (Donald Acton)
Organization: UBC Department of Computer Science, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Lines: 39
Keywords: higher education, R&D
Summary: 

>In article <1589@dciem.UUCP> mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) writes:
>If the Conservatives care about the economy, why are they keen to cut
>spending on science?
>

One scenario that is possible, and probably not very palatable to a 
large number of net readers, is that the money is going to be reallocated 
to SDI research. The federal government has only a certain amount of money
to spend on research. If the feds were to accept the US's invitation to
participate in SDI it would have to get the money from someplace and
it seems like a logical place would be current science funding.

Jim Robinson writes:
>-Universities don't do as much as they should in justifying their existence
> to the average person. 

I agree with this one hundred percent. When I meet friends my age who 
didn't go to University they always wonder what I could be doing at University
for so long. They think it is nothing but a big party at their (taxpayer's)
expense. One thing that Universities must stop doing is adopting a 
condescending attitude towards the general population, the opinions of
the general population shouldn't automatically be rejected out of hand just 
because the person isn't from academia. Far too often I get the impression
that academics are saying "I am right and you are wrong because I am an
academic and you are not."  If I have this impression as part of the academic
community just imagine what the "common" folk think. 

>They do this because that's where the votes
>are and until *Canadians* change their priorities that's the type of
>short-sighted governing that we can expect in the foreseeable future.

The only way Canadians will change their priorities is if *YOU and I*
convince them that their investment in research is worth it. We must
justify research, show them our accomplishments and make them proud
of what Canadian scientists have done. (Little bit of flag waving
here.) We can't afford to say "fund my research because research is good"
we have to convice them that it is.

Donald Acton