[ColinWright]

Understanding of how things work, so we can bend them to our will.

Better understanding of the standard model will buy us many things, most of which we don't yet realise will be interesting, useful, fun, exciting, and important. Better understanding of the standard model will possibly give us:

* Quantum computers

* Room temperature superconductors

* Substances strong enough to build a space elevator

40 years ago we had no idea how to build 'planes that were bigger, stronger, faster, and more efficient than the ones we had, and yet people did the basic research anyway, just because they thought it might be useful. They found composite structures, and we got the 'planes and other things. The metals used in car engines have improved enormously, in part because of what was seen at the time as being basic research that might not really go anywhere.

But in the end it's basic science, and we don't always know how - or whether - it will repay itself. For every advance that has gained us something there are other efforts that have led nowhere, but we never know in advance which will be which.

    That's the nature of research -- you don't know
        what in hell you're doing. -- 'Doc' Edgerton

    If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be
        called research, would it? -- Albert Einstein

So who knows what will come out of this. The research could give us teleportation, or Star Trek-style replicators, or dirt-cheap solar energy harvesting paints that cars can run on, or electricity storage devices, or plastics that can be made without oil, or entirely new substances, just as plastics once were.

I have no idea how old you are, but I'm fifty, and stuff exists now that didn't when I was in my teens, partly because of people doing basic research.

[kcima]

I understand (somewhat) and agree fully with the value of this research. (Great specifics by the way.) I am hearing from you that we have no idea what we will discover, but it could be anything and likely something really cool.

The question I have is really how it was explained to politicians and decision makers who are not scientific. Was it really, "with this research we could discover anything from teleportation to a better way to make toasters", or was it something more specific?

I currently see our governments doing everything they can to limit discovery and creativity because they don't understand basic science or the Internet. It is interesting and heartening to me that a project like this currently exists and is mostly not questioned.

[aptwebapps]

I don't think the top politicians in each country had to sign off on this. More likely the money was already allocated to scientific research and there were people in charge of deciding how to spend it.

<cynical rant>To the extent that politicians did have to be persuaded, they were probably persuaded by other means than that of elucidating the potential scientific payoffs. They were probably persuaded using political arguments, i.e. how it would play with their voters. Politicians are not, in practice, guardians of a sacred trust. They operate by their own rules and for their own reasons.</cynical rant>

[Gravityloss]

no no no you're coming at this from the wrong angle.

To the politicians, it suffices to say that "It's bigger than what the Americans got".

The importance of CERN for European science and culture as a whole is an interesting subject, but I'd assume it's had very much positive effect.

[scorpion032]

The timing of the announcement, 4th July, surely suggests this could be what actually transpired.

[crusso]

> I currently see our governments doing everything they can to limit discovery and creativity because they don't understand basic science or the Internet.

The truth is that it's easier for politicians to buy votes with handouts than it is for them to fund research in the hopes that an enlightened public will appreciate them for their foresight. Looks like they're correct... unfortunately.

[readme]

Government does not fund anything. It redistributes the wealth of the taxpayers. At least attribute the source of the funding to the correct people.

[bfrs]

How come you missed something more obvious?

* Controlled Fusion

My guess is that the politicians were sold on the unlimited energy that successful controlled fusion would provide.

As somebody once said: Any problem on Earth can be solved with the careful application of high explosives. The trick is not to be around when they go off.