An example of freedom at Bell, one where it backfired, occurred with a Swedish linguist we wanted to hire in the mid-60s. His future department head, Peter Denes, who was to take him out for dinner, asked me what he should answer if the candidate enquired about "freedom" at the Labs. I told Denes to reassure the candidate that he had total freedom - he could do whatever he wanted to do. The next thing we knew his office and the corridor nearby were adorned with posters of Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh and Che Guevara - just to test what we meant when we guaranteed him complete freedom. As you might imagine - this was the height of the Vietnam War - there was quite a commotion. People came to see me saying they couldn't continue with their classified, secret work. I had to reassure them that posters couldn't actually see. Then plant security got wind of the situation. They called me and I told them I would take charge, everything was "under control" - which of course it wasn't. But at least I got the security people off my back. Then I called my boss, John Pierce, and explained the whole thing to him. When I was through, he asked me what I was going to do and I said "Nothing, John". He replied with a single word: "Right". Of course, in less than 48 hours the whole thing had blown by.
There are some interesting stories in this write-up.
I lived in the former Bell Labs headquarters in Manhattan (Greenwich Village) that the author referenced for about a year and a half (until early '08). Since about 1970 the building has been used as subsidized housing (work/live loft space) for "artists." The residents rarely move out because they pay mere hundreds of dollars per month for huge loft spaces that would otherwise rent for many thousands. Since they were picky about who they selected to live there initially, (they chose "artists" with established careers, most of whom were 30+ in 1970) today it has the vibe of a really eccentric retirement community. I'm not sure what the people (private philanthropists and NEA bureaucrats working together) thought would become of the community they funded/founded, but I doubt its present state is what they envisioned. I'm grateful for the ultra-cheap sublet opportunity I had nonetheless.
"Well, I accepted the Bell offer - in fact I would have worked at Bell for nothing, but I didn't mind getting paid for what was for me a dream come true."
This is the kind of company I want to create...someday in the future, I hope.
Man, I love hearing stories like these. It's curious how people plan and apply and work to get into top university programs which last a few years, yet they seem to stumble quickly into amazing places like Bell Labs, these super-learning environments that can make a person's career.
Right, especially since Bell Labs is about the most institutional example of that kind of environment. I suppose not many people really had as unusual of an entry into that environment as the subject of this article did. Things were quite different back then.
Good days at Bell Labs were when my dad took me to "Take your sons to work day" -- and the Holmdel, NJ building was still in all its glory. Now...it's been sold off and nobody knows what's going to happen to it.
In the recent interview with Soustroup, he suggested that "AT&T bell labs" was the place to be, not "Lucent bell labs". Is that correct-- it has now split in two?
If I recall correctly, some of these companies subsidize research at universities. I think your best bet would be to find an institute that's doing stuff you like, or has faculty you want to be around, and get associated with them.
Do people do independent research anymore, or is it just too likely they'll reinvent the wheel, lack resources and information, and not receive useful guidance? I'm interested in the university route, but it seems like there isn't as much freedom as in the case of bell labs.
My understanding is that the telephone monopoly is what made basic research so valuable to the company. They had a long horizon (b/c of no competition) and use for lots of innovation (lots of technical challenges in a huge market). Deregulation -> competition -> shorter time horizons and smaller scope -> no more Golden Age Bell Labs. Kind of sad, even though I assume we're better off post-deregulation.
An example of freedom at Bell, one where it backfired, occurred with a Swedish linguist we wanted to hire in the mid-60s. His future department head, Peter Denes, who was to take him out for dinner, asked me what he should answer if the candidate enquired about "freedom" at the Labs. I told Denes to reassure the candidate that he had total freedom - he could do whatever he wanted to do. The next thing we knew his office and the corridor nearby were adorned with posters of Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh and Che Guevara - just to test what we meant when we guaranteed him complete freedom. As you might imagine - this was the height of the Vietnam War - there was quite a commotion. People came to see me saying they couldn't continue with their classified, secret work. I had to reassure them that posters couldn't actually see. Then plant security got wind of the situation. They called me and I told them I would take charge, everything was "under control" - which of course it wasn't. But at least I got the security people off my back. Then I called my boss, John Pierce, and explained the whole thing to him. When I was through, he asked me what I was going to do and I said "Nothing, John". He replied with a single word: "Right". Of course, in less than 48 hours the whole thing had blown by.