My Son Corrects A Myth

While it is only 1/5 the size of Rhode Island and three times the size of Washington D.C., it is perhaps the most switzerland clothing strategically important global trading, finance and service nexus in Asia.

That is great

One thing "we" did get thanks to NASA was a vast improvement in the accuracy of ICBMs. Now it's possible to target launch control facilities which was not possible before the technical improvements brought to us by NASA.</sarcasm>

This topic has been out there lately. I remember hearing about a whole host of NASA invention myths.

That is superb! Great job!

NASA is not in the business of creating commercially useful spin-off technologies, though it does happen (velcro excluded). NASA currently has space probes on Mars, one in orbit around Mercury, one around Saturn, and one on its way to Pluto. It has put three observatories into orbit - Hubble, Compton, and Spitzer. Together, these and previous space probes have vastly expanded our knowledge of the universe, and scientific knowledge has always proven to be economically useful (though not always in the short term). These missions and the knowledge they have given us are sufficient justification for NASA. NASA "don't need no velcro" to justify itself. While a Swiss engineer walking in the woods may invent velcro, he will not decide to build and send a space probe to Pluto.

NASA is nice and all... but I must take issue with your last sentence: "While a Swiss engineer walking in the woods may invent Velcro, he will not decide to build and send a space probe to Pluto."

To the extent that these endeavors are useful, a private entrepreneur is best equipped to handle them. Had aeronautical technology developed in the same manner as those used by NASA, most flight today would be on propeller driven bi-planes or WW2 era craft at best. A market for air travel would not have been discovered and most people would never be able to afford a trip to Rome or Sydney. We should also remember that nearly every useful device or technology that has enhanced our lives was produced through the efforts and experiments on the part of private people responding to incentives.

I concur that private entrepreneurs are the engine that drives our economy but, as you point out, entrepreneurs and investors respond to incentives. There is little economic incentive to do "pure science" (as opposed to applied science as the old Bell Labs used to do). There will be no immediate economic return for a space flight to Pluto and much risk, hence no incentives for investors to provide the large amounts of capital needed (would you invest in it?). Try though I might, I can't envision a free market paying for the Hubble Space Telescope or missions to Pluto.

There are incentives beyond those related to economic outcomes. Many inventions or scientific discoveries are the result of intellectual curiosity. Moreover, many discoveries are accidental results of intellectual efforts. The list of important discoveries includes things like Lasers, penicillin, and telecommunications technology. To the point that a private company would have never made a hubble type project, this point is impossible to prove/disprove. It can be reasoned that much of the research associated with space projects or others with unclear economic benefits would be conducted by research institutions ike universities... In fact, this happens now. Also, the X prize shows that the development of space technology is interesting to many entrepreneurs.

This big issue here is that NASA and the federal government implied the invention of teflon and velcro when NASA spokesmen discussed all the wonderful spinoffs society received from the space race. As a kid, I avidly followed space technology, and I never saw or read anything that corrected the common misbeliefs about NASA inventing teflon and velcro. So, for me and my wife, those misbeliefs lasted longer than forty years.

I'm sure you're very proud. I know I would be if my son performed the same type of action

I hope he understands that Sisyphus had it easy relative to the person trying to correct economic misinformation in the media.

As for the person wondering what the economic point is, there are probably a number of economic points. One of the obvious ones is that people often justify spending on programs like space exploration by claiming technology spillovers. "NASA invented this and now we all get to use it." If you do this don't count velcro.

matt, did that take place before or after Gore was being interviewed by Eric Segal, as Segal based the characters in "Love Story" on Al and Tipper (according to Al.)

And the economic point of this post is ...?

Metre,

Read "New ideas from Dead Economist." In the chapter on Karl Marx, the author uses the story of Velcro's creation as an example debunking Marx' labour theory of value. Using his human capital, George de Mestral's created a product that many have found useful and died a billionaire without ever stealing anything from the proletariat.

Probably that velcro was not, in fact, created by a govt. run space program for a govt. run space program... but that's just my economic interpretation...

Also, this is a glimpse into the mind of the competition your kid will face when applying for jobs in the future. So, don't let them slack off at school!

"Let him/her" - singular. Clearly, I slacked.

You've created a monster.

You're all wrong. Al Gore invented Velcro. He got the idea because global warming was melting his limo tires to the road.

I thought he invented it around the time he created the internet.

He needed those "loops" and "hooks" to tie the tubes together.

That's what Ted Stevens said, anyway...

Nice going Thomas. Isn't it nice that unlike bloggers, the msm have editors and fact checkers to make sure their stuff is accurate.

A "chip off the old block" You and your wife must be so proud! Now if we could get the rest of the next generation of leaders to be schooled by masters like the Boudreauxs we would be in good shape! I told my nephew about Bastiat's "What is seen and what is not seen" as it pertains to "cash for clunkers" and he saw the logic told by the broken window story and repeated it to his Grampa the next day.

So your hubris is rubbing off on him... nice.

That I am vain and self-centered, I do not deny. But hubris is emphatically not one among my many faults. I have no illusions that I'm capable of handling affairs beyond those of my immediate vicinity (myself, my family, my work duties) and no desire whatsoever to govern other people in the way they lead their lives.

"That I am vain and self-centered, I do not deny."

And deservedly so.

If only he'd written it in Klingon...

no, just kidding, rock on Thomas.

NASA gets a lot of undeserved credit:

http://mises.org/story/2434

That was enlightening

Like father, like son!

Your occasional posts about your son make me wish you and Karol had a few more children.

I say we all pitch in and send them to the octomom's fertility doctor.

Sounds about normal, "the USA must have invented it" thinking.

More like "Government must have invented it" thinking.

Nice!

At this rate he's going to surpass his dad in letter's to the editor (or producer) by the time he's you're age!

Your kid is more knowledgeable than this 24 years old. I thought it was invented for the space program as well. :-/

haha! Brilliant. I first started reading your blog a few years ago and got turned off by the amount of letters to editors you posted. I have now grown to appreciate the art involved in this as well as its importance. Good on you and good on your son.

That is incredible, I never knew that. Thank you, Mr. Tom Boudreaux.