Licking!

Chapter 56 Licking!

Although Ethan Jones couldn't understand how California's absurd laws came about, on the way home, his sister Evelyn Jensen provided him with a solution.

The United States may not have been built entirely on science and technology, but it certainly became a technologically advanced nation.

During World War II, the Vannevar Bush Scientific Research Bureau proved its worth during the war, bringing significant benefits to the United States. Therefore, in 1944, having witnessed the allure of technological progress, President John D. Smith posed four questions to the Vannevar Bush as World War II was drawing to a close.

The first question is how to bring wartime technology into people's lives as quickly as possible while ensuring military security.

In response to the question raised by Mi Shizu, Dr. Vannevar consulted with other scientists and wrote a report titled "Science: The Endless Frontier," which included the view that scientists have the freedom to conduct their own research and development and have the right to decide in what fields their inventions will be applied.

Evelyn, leaning against the passenger seat, rested her chin on her hand and said with a smile, "In Dr. Vannevar's eyes, the personal freedom of technology researchers cannot be restricted. If he wants to do research at a university, then let him do research at a university. If he wants to enter the government, then the government should provide him with a convenient environment. At the same time, the researchers of a technology are the people who understand the technology best, and they have the right to decide whether their inventions should be kept secret."

"Although these things are difficult to achieve in reality, it is understandable that California sets out laws based on this liberal thinking. After all, California needs more technological achievements if it wants to develop."

"Relying solely on agriculture and general manufacturing, the economy here will only experience steady growth, not a qualitative leap."

Evelyn stopped there.

His face was also full of self-deprecation, "Of course, as of now, we don't know what technology will bring."

"Because right now, the only well-known companies are HP, Intel, and Fairchild, right?"

"These companies have indeed brought about some changes to California, but a qualitative leap..."

"To be honest, we didn't even see it ourselves."

Ethan raised an eyebrow at his sister's words.

Because he knew that what would bring about a qualitative leap in California was the true popularization of computers.

Only after computers entered every household did Silicon Valley's technologies truly find their place.

As for the key to open this door...

While ensuring safe driving, Ethan also glanced at the other person.

The exquisite profile of the person in the passenger seat made him smile. "A qualitative leap is just around the corner."

"Because the key to open that door is 6502."

"People may not know your name, but those in the industry will always remember your contributions."

"Because you woke me up by scolding me, and made me go and help Chuck Patel and his gang with their legal problems."

"The scientists who benefited from this will thank you."

"Oh—Ethan—" Evelyn chuckled, "Your words are so cheesy."

She, who had been gazing at the scenery, turned to look at her younger brother and said, "Why are you describing yourself like a villain?"

"Well, it's all to highlight your greatness," Ethan joked. "Behind every successful Superman, there's a jerk trying to destroy the world. If that jerk is also Superman's family member, then Superman is even greater, because he puts righteousness above family loyalty."

"Hahaha--"

Ethan's words made Evelyn burst into laughter.

He kept pounding on the car door with his right hand.

It took her a long time to recover.

In order to prevent his sister from fainting from happiness, Ethan promptly changed the subject.

“Okay, jokes aside, Evelyn, I’m wondering, why does California think this way? Why do they think they’ll lead the technological revolution?” Ethan asked. “Don’t other states think this way too?”

Yes, that's actually what's strange about Ethan.

If Stanford's rise and the birth of Silicon Valley were due to Stanford clinging to Fred Terman's coattails, then what about California? As a region with independent legislative power, why are they so confident that they will be the next world center?

If outdated laws are being amended based on development outcomes, then Ethan can understand it.

But now...

The legal provisions that promote exchanges are already in place!

This kind of precognition is just too ridiculous!

Ethan's question prompted Evelyn to stretch.

"Ethan, other states may have the same idea, but Dr. Vannevar only has so many students."

"Every university wants to hire his students to do research, but only Stanford can guarantee that it can hire Fred Terman to teach, because Fred Terman's father, Lewis Terman, was a professor at Stanford."

"WTF?!!!!"

Ethan suspects there's something wrong with his ears!

The most outstanding president in Stanford's history was someone Stanford cultivated itself.

What the hell!

What the hell is this?

You can't win the lottery like this!

His surprise made Evelyn giggle. "Surprised, aren't you?"

"Actually, I was quite surprised when I first entered Stanford."

"Because our professors told us directly that our engineering school is the most prestigious school at Stanford."

"It's not just because HP came from here, but also because President Fred Terman could never leave Stanford."

"All researchers are susceptible to being poached by other schools, but not President Fred Terman, because he was already playing on the Stanford campus when he was ten years old, back in 1910, right? At that time, his father, Lewis Terman, was hired by Stanford as a professor of educational psychology, and later became the head of the psychology department."

"Before his death, his father had been teaching at Stanford because he loved the place, and Principal Fred Terman had grown up there. This bond built up over time is something no one can shake."

"Some media outlets say that Fred Terman's teaching position at Stanford was an accident, because after graduating, he received a job offer from MIT, but stayed at Stanford because he contracted tuberculosis while visiting his father."

"But actually..."

"As far as we know, before he returned, Stanford, knowing that he was a student of Dr. Vannevar, had already prepared a professorship in radio engineering for him and appointed him as the director of the Electronic Communications Laboratory."

"Do you think other schools don't want to poach talent?"

"No……"

"They simply can't dig it away."

"More importantly, Principal Fred was only twenty-five years old when he became the headmaster."

At this point, Evelyn stared intently at Ethan.

Feeling the intense gaze, Ethan, who was driving, glanced at the rearview mirror in the center of the car.

When Evelyn caught this, she pursed her lips and said, "So now you know why California thinks it can lead technological change, right? Because Stanford University gave them hope."

"And reality has proven that everyone's predictions were correct."

"Because before Dr. Vannevar presented his report, 'The Endless Frontier,' President Fred Terman had already learned from his teacher about the latter's desire to vigorously promote the development of scientific research in universities."

"He told Stanford about this, and then, around the same time the report in Endless Frontiers was published, Fred Terman was promoted to vice president of the university. He then used this title to communicate with scientists at the Office of War Research."

"At the time, he was at Harvard, under the leadership of Dr. Vannevar, and he was in charge of a research project involving more than 800 people. When he told the scientists there that the war was about to end, Stanford wanted to invite them to do research..."

"What are you expecting the scientists to think? Many of them believe that President Fred is conveying Dr. Vannevar's will, and many who are willing to follow Dr. Vannevar have come to Stanford."

"Then, the following year, the Stanford Research Institute was established."

"..."

Ok!

Ethan was deeply moved by his sister's story.

If California's relaxed environment was created by the influx of postwar scientists, then the outrageous legal provisions make sense.

After all, this law protects the interests of California's largest economic source: scientists who have proven themselves through war!

They are the key to America's success!

When these people cannot control their own inventions, where does the motivation for research come from?

So how can it be called plagiarism if the inventor of a patent copies his own work?

This is clearly just a re-examination of past scientific research results!

As for those capitalists who hold patent rights?

Without the patents developed by scientists, how could capitalists profiting from them possibly emerge?

Note: ① Fred Terman's father, Lewis Terman, was very famous. He conducted the oldest and longest-running longitudinal study in psychology, the "Terman Gifted Study," and standardized the Binet Intelligence Scale for IQ testing. ② Fred Terman's efforts to poach talent from Stanford are quite interesting. He directly approached scientists at Harvard, telling them they would receive better treatment at Stanford. He would have been expelled long ago if he hadn't been a student of Van Nevar. ③ The Stanford Research Institute was a long-standing project. Stanford considered establishing it as early as 1920, with Michonne as the trustee, but it failed because Michonne wasn't an academic and lacked resources. Later, in 1945, Lockheed attempted to establish it, bringing in the Illinois Institute of Technology to provide research support, but this also failed. The third time, Fred Terman, whose entire family lived at Stanford and who was then the university president, took the lead. Compared to the previous two cases, Fred Terman, backed by Van Nevar, had a natural research advantage. The Bay Area's ambition to develop technology is not something that can be accomplished overnight; it has taken more than 20 years to achieve. Of course, no one expected that they would eventually be able to find such a powerful backer.

(End of this chapter)