[stephnexus]

I think the right time to be scared for the future of pure science was in the 1970s. Pure R&D institutions started dropping like flies after that, and we almost lost our innovation edge.

I think the Internet brought us back from the brink -- except now it's not large institutions sponsoring R&D, but rather small companies and individuals. Pure science suffers in comparison to small tech (like apps and web stuff) because it's expensive, but I think that could change as we perfect crowd-funding mechanisms and as enough people accumulate enough resources to start privately funding pure science research.

I don't think traditional higher ed institutes are safe by any means -- but a PhD itself is still a worthwhile use of time, whether used for its intended purpose or as a pivot.