Re: [DL] Universities and Mad Science

["Daniel Gwyn" <dgwyn@colba.net>]

G'Day all,
    You know for an American dominated list-serv, no one has suggested an
obvious source of funding for Universities regarding Mad Scientists, namely
good ol' capitalism.  In the context of the Great Rail Wars, I would have
thought, that the railroad companies (and their suppliers) would be banging
on the doors of chemistry and engineering departments looking for answers
and expertise.  "Yep, I am proud to announce the creation of the Union Blue
school of Para-natural engineering here at Yale." ("Academic independence?
What's that?")
    Conversely, mad scientists already in Universities might be lured into
the private sector, either headhunted by large companies or as "start-up"
companies on the side.  ("Professor George B. Plump and owner of Dr. G.B.
Plump's pulverizing, pump action, steam pile-driver Company.")
    One question:  Is ghost rock strictly necessary for a mad science device
to work or could a mad scientist invent some widget that doesn't need G.R.
to work thus avoiding having his hands turn black?
          Daniel Gwyn
"You have a big heart...not as big as your mouth,  but
you have good feelings inside you"
    From the Frisco Kid

-----Message d'origine-----
De : GriffithC@aol.com <GriffithC@aol.com>
À : deadlands@gamerz.net <deadlands@gamerz.net>
Date : Freitag, 18. August 2000 10:55
Objet : Re: [DL] Universities and Mad Science


>Just to add my two cents to Allan's discussion on Mad Science and
>universities -- I think he's right about the money aspect, academic
>scientists are driven by grant money, so if there is large federal funding
in
>Mad Science, many, even those that don't know anything about it, might
twist
>their research programs to embrace it (it's a little anachronistic
projecting
>too much academic grant-grubbing back into the 19th century, but it is more
>fun).  If Mad Science funding is coming through the USA/CSA governments,
then
>I suggest that much of the research would be going on at Land Grant
Colleges,
>established by Congress in 1863 (and we assume in the DL timeline, the CSA
>would establish something similar because Land Grant Colleges were
successful
>and popular). Land Grant Colleges were intended to provide research and
>instruction in areas that were most useful to the American public, i.e.
>agriculture and the mechanical arts. Surely research on ghost rock and
>building new gizmos would fall under the definition of useful to the
American
>public (certainly to the American militaries)! Another interesting area of
>conflict is that scientists and researchers at Land Grant Colleges were
>looked down on by their colleagues at older colleges (i.e. Harvard or
Yale).
>You can still see that today if you attended a "State" college and hear it
>referred to as a Cow College. Might be interesting to see how long those
>bluebloods would keep up that Cow College crap after a couple of ghost-rock
>powered automatons plowed through the alumni section at the Homecoming
Game.
>Just another hilarious prank from the boys in Ghost Rock 101 at the local
>State College.
>
>Clay
>
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