It's amazing that with all that "experimental" stuff, the design of planes really has not changed much. I am sure there are certain things that were learned, but I also cannot get past the notion that there is a more appropriate method for initiating and supporting research.
I get that people's common refrain is "you never know what comes out of research", but I think that is also too easily used as an excuse to not apply some diligence and rigor. There are both real and virtual hangars chocked full of research that should never have been funded for a while host or reasons. I guarantee that a society that figures out how to more deliberately direct R&D funding will surpass the USA in technological advancement.
Does anyone know of any efforts to quantify the rate of return on R&D? I suspect that an honest calculation would invoke "abysmal" and "atrocious".
I get that people's common refrain is "you never know what comes out of research", but I think that is also too easily used as an excuse to not apply some diligence and rigor. There are both real and virtual hangars chocked full of research that should never have been funded for a while host or reasons. I guarantee that a society that figures out how to more deliberately direct R&D funding will surpass the USA in technological advancement.
Does anyone know of any efforts to quantify the rate of return on R&D? I suspect that an honest calculation would invoke "abysmal" and "atrocious".