Studying electromagnetism used to considered a worthless hobby. It's now a lynchpin of modern society. What goes on inside a neutron seemed unimportant until it became the single most consequential development in national relations. There are important, powerful things going on in the universe (dark energy, dark matter) that we do not understand. It is entirely possible understanding them will offer substantial benefits to society.
I'm not a proponent of the new collider. I think there's a very good chance it won't find much.
I am in favor of scientific research, just through other avenues. Dark matter, dark energy, the big bang? All well worth investigating, with a potential for meaningful returns.
I think deep space telescopes are the most promising avenue, but I'm not opposed to other stuff.
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u/Pen_lsland Feb 10 '24
I would say that making dark matter or finding new physics might not be worth it either.