Similarly, you make the point that not all researchers are desirous of commercializing their ideas. As you say, that’s not a bad thing in and of itself, but I think it’s a more interesting and larger world when people do “get their idea out there” for us all to enjoy and build on.

Some serious psychology is required to figure out how to motivate people who have the ideas to share them in a practical way. Or maybe what’s missing is another “agent”, who acts as a catalyst or activator, or like a bridge, between the inventor and the market place.

Maybe it’s not that we have fat and happy researchers, but that our agents are too thin on the ground – not enough of those kind of people around. It would be interesting to test your hypothesis by comparing the income and/or living conditions of inventors in various countries.

If you are right in your rant, we should be able to measure it. What an excellent PhD thesis topic that would be. Imagine the field work. Fascinating.

Mark Gallant