People are reasonably good at estimating how things add up, but for compounding, which involved repeated multiplication, we fail to appreciate how quickly things grow.
Paul RomerRead
When somebody discovers something like the quadratic formula or the Pythagorean theorem, the convention in science is that he can't control that idea. He has to give it away. He publishes it. What's rewarded in science is dissemination of ideas.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Scientific discoveries are meant to be shared, not hoarded.
In this quote, Paul Romer emphasizes the importance of sharing scientific knowledge and discoveries rather than keeping them to oneself. The fundamental principle of science is that once a new idea or theorem is discovered, it is the duty of the discoverer to publish and disseminate that knowledge so that others can benefit from it, thus advancing collective understanding and progress in the field.
Themes
ScienceKnowledgeDisseminationIdeasDiscovery
In practice
Example use cases
During a science conference, you might reference this quote to stress the importance of sharing research findings.
More from Paul Romer
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One of the most powerful insights in economics is this idea of a division of labor. You do the thing you're good at. Other people do something else that they're good at. The net effect is better for everybody.
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Human material existence is limited by ideas, not stuff, people don't need copper wires they need ways to communicate, oil was a contaminant, then it became a fuel
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It is the job of government to prevent a tragedy of the commons. That includes the commons of shared values and norms on which democracy depends.
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In the developing world, most people don't yet live in big well-run cities. Given the chance to move to one, hundreds of millions of people would go there to get a job, get an education for their children, and live in a place that is clean, safe, and healthy.
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I won't compare ants and people, but ants give us a useful model of how single members of a community can become so organized that they end up resembling, in effect, one big collective brain. Our own exploding population and communication technology are leading us that way.
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Remember that all models are wrong; the practical question is how wrong do they have to be to not be useful.
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