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"Standing still is the fastest way of moving backwards in a world that is changing at an ever more rapid pace". This is an accurate summary of the impact of innovation on contemporary society, for countries, firms and individuals. The ability to innovate – and renew oneself – is at once a yardstick of competitiveness, a factor of success and a guarantee of survival. Research underlies any innovative process, but the path that leads from the intuition to the discovery, and from this to applications, is never entirely predictable. In fact, innovation is only possible in a society that rewards creativity and risk-taking and ensures the uninhibited flow of information and ideas. And which understands the fact that innovation is power – thanks to its ability to change the world, life and things, and the social impact of its consequences – and as such should be shared by all the citizens of the world. |
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Innovation in Scientific Research
Milan, 4 December 1998 The innovative potential of a scientific structure depends on its ability to maintain a rich flow of both "knowledge", i.e., the formation of new scientific and technological ideas, and "know-how", i.e., their application. Italy has achieved this objective in physics with the construction of large "open laboratories", facilities that make their equipment available to outside users, thus offering students opportunities for direct contact with the most advanced scientific techniques and problems. No less important is a commitment to creating closer links between universities, research institutes and industry: in this context basic research and applied research are increasingly complementary endeavours, constituting a unitary process with no confusion of roles, since the former is focused on generating new knowledge, while the latter develops applications for this knowledge. Nevertheless, there is no substantive dividing line between the two: research cannot be divided, as people are wont to do, into basic and applied research but rather into good and bad research. Since the Renaissance, new horizons have not been opened gradually, but rather as the result of an increasingly rapid succession of extraordinary events that have not only completely changed the course of research in the sector involved but have also radically transformed the life of humanity. Thomas S. Kuhn, in his classic treatise, Structure of Scientific Revolutions, distinguishes between "normal" and "revolutionary" science. However, although it does not aim to overturn accepted dogmas, even normal science can still open new paths that were not foreseen by the researcher. For example, this is what has happened in biological science in the second half of the twentieth century. It therefore seems legitimate to ask ourselves what objectives we have in this sector, especially as regards the study of the brain, both in the neurosciences and the cognitive sciences |
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