WiredNews notes that the new security environment enacted by the Justice Department of the United States is decimating our research labs nationwide. Our ability to attract new students for research training has been blocked by 20% and research into particular pathogens or other areas of scientific interest are being curtailed, much of it voluntarily in response to DOJ requests. But some of it is being shut down by administrative fiat or indirectly due to the restrictive hassles imposed on researchers who want to continue their research.
Classic Form VS Function decision that yet again errs on the form side. These regulations might look like a good idea but they don't help at all. The research momentum that the national scientific community loses is far more damaging than any potential threat that may be incurred from the research. Even more telling is that while the risk that research could provide info that someone could use to hurt others, that risk is miniscule compared to the absolute and guaranteed damages we take in restricting our research activity.
I haven't really laid out my ideas about human inventiveness yet, but I feel that we've made mistakes in the past by doing things simply because we can instead of thinking about if we should. Just because a door is unlocked doesn't mean we should open it and wander around on the other side. While these attempts by the DOJ to secure us are nice attempts to get us thinking about the needs of researching particular areas, it makes the same kind of mistakes by ordering us to lock every unlocked door we find. We need a better sense of balance and a long-term outlook that treats each case on its own merits. If the current freeze on research keeps up, we'll find that the research is going on elsewhere. The end result is that the research still happens, only we lose our competitive edge. Perhaps not a bad thing, though...
Posted by Nutrimentia at September 14, 2003 05:21 PM | TrackBack