pursuit of mastery, such that you can do something better? you hit it absolutely right. it s an american characteristic, it goes back centuries. you know, every farmer, every shopkeeper, every factory worker fought like a scientist. they were always thinking about how things work and how they can make them better. what worries me right now, in this cutting frenzy in washington, science is going to take more than the hit it deserves, it deserves no hit. it should be increased. it s going to take a heavy hit, and our future economy will have nothing to grow on, because our productivity growth has come from past innovation, from past investments in research. if we don t make those, you know, talk about a 9% unemployment rate, you know, that might look good. there s a broader issue that is frustrating myself, and i think, a lot of people when they watch the political debate, that is brought out by the debate about funding for science in