  This paper deals with the social production of knowledge in the exact
sciences. After defining the term, exact science, it delineates the broad
dynamic of its history. It, then, offers a socio-economic historical
explanation of why the production of knowledge has become a major industry, if
not the largest industry, in the last hundred years. The paper concludes by
drawing a detailed blueprint of the components, mechanisms and specificities of
the knowledge industry.
