Sharing For Progress

Ever wonder why we haven’t seemed to make much progress in finding a cure for cancer, or creating affordable alternative fuel sources, such as algae bio-fuel. Strangely the answer may be the same for both although they seem worlds apart. Apparently a large number of researchers and scientists don’t like to share. Could it really be as simple as that? The fields of medical research and bio-fuel research are both big business. The investors who dole out millions of dollars for research and the researchers themselves don’t want their findings to fall into the hands of competitors so information is not shared, progress is therefore stalled, and it becomes a Mobius strip of continued failure.  Progress in science relies heavily on duplication and repetition, but if no one is reporting what works or doesn’t work, the same errors are being made over and over again. A reminder to the great minds of science from Robert Fulgham’s “All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten”; share everything is at the top of the list, and yes, it really can be that simple.