Neglected Local Science

The Economist reports:

African scientists feel neglected by their politicians who, they suspect, do not understand that geeks as well as businessmen are crucial to economic development...It is, of course, possible to free-ride on the science and technology of others. But in Africa, as elsewhere, no one knows better than the locals exactly what technology needs to be created, and no one has a greater incentive to create it. Nor need such technology be of the unsophisticated kind often badged as “appropriate” by well-meaning outsiders. Appropriate technology can be very sophisticated indeed.