It is not reasonable to expect those who came before us to be ideal. Only tyrants present their predecessors as icons, inert and perfect. The best that free people can hope for is a legacy of self-correction. The Founders were wise enough to expect us to know more than they did. They inscribed into the Constitution an institution (a patent office) to promote the “Progress of Science and useful arts.” They believed that scientific advances could improve political life. John Adams applied an analogy from physical equilibrium to defend the political checks and balances of the Constitution.
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