"If you don’t have lot of failures you are not being adventurous enough. "

The californiastemcellreport had the line "if you don’t have lot of failures you are not being adventurous enough," which reminded me of a patent attorney who said "if I get an allowance on the first Office Action, I didn't claim broadly enough."

The californiastemcellreport also noted: The public and advocacy groups want and are conditioned to expect instant solutions and cures. Indeed, American society is oriented in that direction. Without laying the groundwork as soon as possible and educating the public, CIRM could become ensnared in a few years in an unpleasant trap when critics begin to demand: "Show us the beef."

One can compare the way the Wright Brothers organized their work to CIRM's planning, and conclude that not much has been learned in the last hundred years. More specifically, the Langley's of the world are still getting most of the money, and there's a premonition that the things won't fly (symoblically for stem cells, literally for Langley), requiring that rationalizations better be prepared in advance.