Shapin's book demonstrates that contrary to a widely held belief, industrial research has not invariably been more regimented than academic science. He argues that the intellectual freedom historically available to industrial scientists during the twentieth century has been underestimated. Many companies, recognizing that the results of scientific investigation were necessarily uncertain and that profits, if any, might take years to materialize, granted scientists considerable latitude to develop their ideas and follow them in unexpected directions. Some companies even provided senior scientists with free time to pursue their own research interests, whatever they might be. Consequently, some scientists were drawn to industrial research not primarily because of the generally good financial compensation but because they saw industry as the best place to do cutting-edge research.