Research and experimental development is formal work undertaken systematically to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications
> Hamming's essay is about doing great work, solving important problems, and having significance.
Hamming makes clear his remarks are about how to do "significant things," and he is using science as a microcosm to describe what that is, only because it is the microcosm he is most familiar with. See here:
"Why shouldn't you do significant things in this one life, however you define significant? I'm not going to define it - you know what I mean. I will talk mainly about science because that is what I have studied. But so far as I know, and I've been told by others, much of what I say applies to many fields. Outstanding work is characterized very much the same way in most fields, but I will confine myself to science."
> Intro: I have given a talk with this title many times, and it turns out from discussions after the talk I could have just as well have called it "You and Your Engineering Career," or even "You and Your Career." But I left the word "Research" in the title because that is what I have most studied"
Really? I wonder why the title is "You and your research"? You think he is talking about inventing things that someone has come up with before?
Let's look at wiki for research: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research
Research and experimental development is formal work undertaken systematically to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of humanity, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications
> Hamming's essay is about doing great work, solving important problems, and having significance.
No, that is your essay.