On Monday 12 May 2008, Perry E. Metzger wrote: [snip] > had to pass a very high barrier in order to do so. It is not clear > that society was radically worse off as a result.
It depends on your metrics for "radically worse off." In my own value system, a world in which there is more study of philosophy, pure math, history and, yes, the study of sociological and political forces in the practice of science is an objectively better one. I don't begrudge them my taxes. -Taj.
