Furthermore, the average person has no understanding of the history, practice, and effects of scientific research. They don't realize that the unbelievable technologies we enjoy today are a result of very concerted efforts throughout history to advance the state of our understanding. The iPhone is a result of the accumulation of every discovery made by mankind since the inception of our species. This is not what the average person thinks when they hold an iPhone. As such, I believe crowdfunding will be for a very small niche of like minded people. That does not compare to the resources available through taxation.
From the article:
“A Fred Sanger would not survive today’s world of science. With continuous reporting and appraisals, some committee would note that he published little of import between insulin in 1952 and his first paper on RNA sequencing in 1967 with another long gap until DNA sequencing in 1977. He would be labelled as unproductive, and his modest personal support would be denied. We no longer have a culture that allows individuals to embark on long-term—and what would be considered today extremely risky—projects.”
From Peter Higgs [1]:
"The emeritus professor ... published fewer than 10 papers after his groundbreaking work, which identified the mechanism by which subatomic material acquires mass, was published in 1964.
Higgs, 84, said he would almost certainly have been sacked had he not been nominated for the Nobel in 1980.
Edinburgh University's authorities then took the view, he later learned, that he "might get a Nobel prize – and if he doesn't we can always get rid of him".
Higgs said he became "an embarrassment to the department when they did research assessment exercises". A message would go around the department saying: "Please give a list of your recent publications." Higgs said: "I would send back a statement: 'None.' "
1. http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/dec/06/peter-higgs-b...