Leanid Zaika: Lukashenka’s Demands Remind Four-Cornered Wheel

The dictator was advised not to interfere in science and economics.

Speaking at the forum before scientists, Lukashenka expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that some Belarusian enterprises do not show sufficient interest in innovations, and scientists — due diligence in advancing their innovations, zautra.by writes.

He believes that the chain of interaction with enterprises should be as follows: a scientist invents the product, and the institute or the Academy of Sciences offers it for implementation.

Is it right to assign such duties to the head of the Academy of Sciences? And how in general should scientific development go to life?

Zaika: Leave scientists in peace! Stay away from them with your demands that they should do or implement something for you

Economist Leanid Zaika also believes that the mission of the Academy of Sciences is totally different, and it’s absolutely stupid to demand that scientists should implement their inventions into production.

— Generally speaking, scientific achievements are not implemented, they are captured directly by the production, — the economist says. — Everything decent, competitive is taken and go to the production straightaway. The business earns millions and millions on this. Look at Elon Musk, who made the e-car.

Leanid Zaika is also confident that no head of the Academy of Sciences should select any developments at all, much less try to implement them. If these developments are important and necessary, they will be in demand.

— If you made an automobile wheel, which is not supposed to be pumped with air, they will jump at it anyway, — the expert clarifies. — But if you made a four-cornered wheeel, you can, of course, try to implement it, try to make people use it. This is what they do here. The problem of the belarusian science is that it remained socialistoc, not needed, far from the real science. And the state’s approach twards it remained as Soviet-style, — the expert thinks.

In addition, the economist recalls that there is also theoretical science that is not focused on a concrete result, and it is useless to demand practical results from it.

— On the whole, the conversation between Lukashenka and the schientists reminds me the situation with Professor Kurchatov. When Kurchatov worked on the problem of the atomic core, he was constantly visited by various commissions — from the ministry, from the regional party committee, from other organizations. Its head, Ioffe, even asked Kurchatov to close the laboratory, go on some vacation and never show up again. All these inspectors asked: "And what does Professor Kurchatov do? An atomic core?

Show us this atomic core, and what he did with it”, — Leanid Zaika says.

That is why the economist advises the leaders to give scientists the opportunity to engage in science and not get into their work, demanding some results and implementations.

— I think that science is satisfying of curiosity for the state’s expense. That’s it! Leave the scientists in peace! Get off! Stay back with your demands so that they should do or implement something for you, — the economist asks. — We have been discussing this problem in Belarus for 40 years, and no one understood anything in the end.

Academician Vaitovich: The Academy cannot promote the product , no one in the world does this

In the opinion of academician Aliaksandr Vaitovich, making the Academy and its leader in charge of the promotion of scientific developments will be absolutely wrong.

— Firstly, the head of the Academy of Sciences does not possess the necessary knowledge, skills or practice for this. He is completely unable to do this work. For this, it is necessary to know at least the conjuncture in the whole world, — the academician explains. — Yes, and no one in the world does this.

According to Aliaksandr Vaitovich, the world's approaches in this matter have long been defined and there is no reason to invent something original.

— The whole world does like this: firms track the world market and make decisions on how to update their products. They decide what innovations to introduce, how it will then be coordinated with the requirements of the market, where it will have to be offered; and what is the percentage of probability that this will be a success, — the academician explains.

Nothing can be done by the Academy.

— It has neither the opportunity, neither the staff, nor the information for this. It cannot possibly have this all. This is not its job.