For a good example of what happens when you think idea's can be rushed ahead of their time, look at German efforts in rocketry and jet aviation during WWII. Vast sums of money were wasted with very little to show for it.
I disagree
completely. Little money was wasted in their research, and much came out of it. Whether the technologies were not refined to 'modern' standards for another X number of years is irrelevant- the work done during WW2 was
essential to the future development of the technologies.
The Me 163, while an ineffective fighter, was terribly important in the design and development of rocketry (and the work to determine that jet propulsion was more effective).
And, the V2 was
breakthrough. Did you forget the V2
rocket was the first long-range ballistic missile??? Not to mention the v2 paved the way for United State's manned space exploration!!!
Let's also not forget that it was Nazi Germany's
rocket scientists were some of the most sought after people by the US after the war! For goodness gracious Operation Paperclip went so far as to
falsify the backgrounds of several scientists and engineers (including
the father of modern rocketry von Braun) in order to get around Truman's anti-Nazi rules!
Germany's rocketry work was
far from rushed, wasted, or ineffective... ...