| > Aspirational stuff doesn't count. A technology only counts after a layperson can point at it and describe how it makes their life easier. Why should we stop inventing and discovering things? Just because you want immediate gratification? > I correct you. At the LHC cafeteria to be precise which costed about 0.01% of the whole project. Let's specify. I don't accept that distinction > It wasn't new theoretical physics. What I mean is that the kind of stuff that Hakwing has produced for example we will never get to use it, and verifying stuff that we already know it works at the macro level (which theoretical physicists have to admit will always be our level as mammals macro creatures) doesn't produce any benefit for society. It actually produces huge direct benefits for society immediately > Kipp Thorne is talking about building something like LIGO but in space, what's that for? How much will this monstrosity cost? What will be the ROI? Physics isn't done for ROI, apart from the scientific return. And I will do so, by applying for grants, and taking YOUR MONEY to do it. You don't have a choice, unfortunately. The tax man will come with a gun to take the money from you and give it to me to do science. And oh what a wonderful thing that is! Btw, LISA will not be too expensive, since it is just three satellites. The space based interferometers are much cheaper than stuff like JWST because they can operate at high losses and without any lenses or much optics at all. We do optimise to reduce the budget > While these people are trying to solve a murder mystery , the rest of the population is rightfully in pain because they don't have food, shelter or their loved ones die of diseases such as Malaria or TB. Even in the rich world we are still at the mercy of cancer and heart disease. We can solve more than one problem at once. We are not one person. > I can say the same things about you. Unhealthy obsession with a problem, no matter how beautiful or cool, makes you completely ignore the realities around you in terms of people and quality of life and undue setbacks as well as unrealized potential, which is a much worse perspective that not being able to tell if trillions of years from now the Universe will die of a big freeze or a big rip Who said I am ignoring such things? Do you think that physicists are misanthropic. Let me repeat: one person can do one thing, while another can do another thing. I will go into more detail: When you have two organisms in the world, such as two separate humans, they can make their own decisions and do different things. For example, even though you may want to watch one TV show, I can watch a different one on my own TV. While you may want to work as a doctor, I can work as a physicist. Different humans can make their own choices to do their own thing. It isn't a metaphysical requirement of the universe that all effort is put into the same thing |
Doesn't have to be immediate, but there has to be gratification in very practical terms. Taxpayers deserve it. LIGO and James Webb telescope won't yield anything for them. Same goes for the ISS. The ITER fusion project is a different animal, it has low odds but huge upside in very practical terms. Same for the money spent on nuclear fission in the 20th century.
> And I will do so, by applying for grants, and taking YOUR MONEY to do it.
Thank god for the existence of the Cayman Islands and BVI and Bermuda and UAE I guess.
> We can solve more than one problem at once. We are not one person.
Sure but there is a reason why BioNtech, Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca can knock at capital markets door 24/7/365 and publicly, while theoretical physicists only have POTUS, or EU Commission President door. People who have arrived at the pinnacle of the human experience, don't have to worry about anything so they can afford to sign off expensive projects (with money which is not theirs to begin with) and done solely for intellectual curiosity which don't yield any benefit.
> Do you think that physicists are misanthropic
No, but the lack of awareness and not collectively stopping to ask questions about ROI and quality of life returns for projects is a bit off. It's one of the only fields where stuff gets routinely written off as a loss (of time and money), and we are at a stage where the rare wins only produce brain juices and prizes for the ones who solve the murder mystery do jour...