“The real technical problems came because people working on the project didn't really follow my proposal at all, but set out to do other things instead of making a laser.”
Other Gordon Gould Quotes
That attitude does not exist so much today, but in those days there was a very sharp distinction between basic physics and applied physics. Columbia did not deal with applied physics.
Gordon Gould 
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There was a second problem that was still not a technical problem... the project became classified. I couldn't work on it after having gone to all that trouble. I was considered a security risk, so I could not get a clearance.
Gordon Gould
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But certainly the laser proved to be what I realized it was going to be. At that moment in my life I was too ignorant in business law to be able to do it right, and if I did it over again probably the same damn thing would happen.
Gordon Gould
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