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Jokes aside, doesn't anybody else find it ridiculous that almost 10 billion
dollars is being spent on an experiment that will have absolutely zero
practical benefit to mankind (even if it's spectacularly successful beyond
imagination)? To keep things in perspective, the total annual funding for
cancer research in USA for the four most common cancers is around a billion
dollars. I cannot imagine how much benefit to humanity would result in
channelling all that money, time, resources and especially brainpower to
worthy causes. Everyone needs health care, without exception. Even if you
never get sick, there's much medical science could be doing to improve
quality or quantity of your life. I'd even be tempted to say 10 billion
dollars in the next 10 years spent on fighting aging could have the
potential to add 10 years to the lifespan of our species, to my and your
life. Sure, someone will comment how US wastes 100s of billions in Iraq, but
what irresponsible polititicians do should not excuse what supposedly smart
scientists do. Science without ethics and mismanagement of resources, to me,
is just as much a crime against humanity. What's even more frustrating is
that the media is brainwashing the masses into believing that this
experiment will have earth shattering (no pun intended) results. Nobody
seems to stop and ask, for instance, what the discovery of the top quark did
for humanity? What remotely practical consequence did it have? What remotely
practical consequence *could* it have? High energy physics operates in a
domain that has no connection whatsoever with anything applicable to
everyday life. It's the same kind of meaningless pursuit as analyzing the
makeup of a galaxy 5 billion light years away. There can be no application
whatsover, even in one's wildest dreams. It's about satisfying empty
curiosity (and pushing papers).
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somebody wrote:
> High energy physics operates in a
> domain that has no connection whatsoever with anything applicable to
> everyday life. It's the same kind of meaningless pursuit as analyzing the
> makeup of a galaxy 5 billion light years away. There can be no application
> whatsover, even in one's wildest dreams. It's about satisfying empty
> curiosity (and pushing papers).
Most of number theory is about "empty curiosity" about the properties
and relationships of numbers. It is precisely because of this that we
now have asymmetric ciphers that make secure ecommerce plausible.
Electricity was discovered as a result of "empty curiosity" about
various seemingly unimportant phenomina.
You cannot know how useful something will or won't be until you find it.
In summary, I refute your contention that learning about how the
Universe works is a pointless waste of money. On the other hand, I
accept that while this is "worthwhile", there are other endevours that
would have been more so...
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And lo on Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:36:11 +0100, somebody <x### [at] y com> did spake,
saying:
> Jokes aside, doesn't anybody else find it ridiculous that almost 10
> billion dollars is being spent on an experiment that will have
> absolutely zero
> practical benefit to mankind (even if it's spectacularly successful
> beyond imagination)?
[pops into time machine and heads back to 1968]
Jokes aside, doesn't anybody else find it ridiculous that almost 1 billion
dollars is being spent on an contest of one-upmanship that will have
absolutely zero practical benefit to mankind (even if it's spectacularly
successful beyond imagination)?
[returns]
Oo sat-nav
[heads back to 1980]
Jokes aside, doesn't anybody else find it ridiculous that all this time
and money is being spent to connect up companies and universities when we
already have the telephone, fax, and postal service in place; this will
have absolutely zero practical benefit to mankind (even if it's
spectacularly successful beyond imagination)?
[returns]
Um hello.
--
Phil Cook
--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com
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48da09d1@news.povray.org...
> Jokes aside, doesn't anybody else find it ridiculous that almost 10
> billion
> dollars is being spent on an experiment that will have absolutely zero
> practical benefit to mankind (even if it's spectacularly successful beyond
> imagination)?
Would you mind if I laugh?
It's slightly comical that somebody who uses internet everyday writes that
CERN experiments are useless :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet#CERN.2C_the_European_internet.2C_the_link_to_the_Pacific_and_beyond
To get beyond, research about particles physics is far from useless !
All the world of new technologies (even diagnosis and cures for cancer !)
uses quantum physics so does your computer, your mp3 player, your cellular,
your DVD player....
Marc
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> To keep things in perspective, the total annual funding for
> cancer research in USA for the four most common cancers is around a
> billion
> dollars.
What a waste, it would save far more lives if spent intelligently in poorer
countries.
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"scott" <sco### [at] scottcom> wrote:
> > To keep things in perspective, the total annual funding for
> > cancer research in USA for the four most common cancers is around a
> > billion
> > dollars.
>
> What a waste, it would save far more lives if spent intelligently in poorer
> countries.
But then the spivs and speculators would not benefit. Have some sense of what is
important and to whom. ;)
Stephen
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somebody wrote:
> Jokes aside, doesn't anybody else find it ridiculous that almost 10 billion
> dollars is being spent on an experiment that will have absolutely zero
> practical benefit to mankind (even if it's spectacularly successful beyond
> imagination)?
Most of what government does nowadays is of no practical benefit to
mankind, so the CERN deal really isn't that unusual.
Regards,
John
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On Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:14:52 +0100, "Phil Cook" <phi### [at] nospamrocainfreeservecouk>
wrote:
>Jokes aside, doesn't anybody else find it ridiculous that almost 1 billion
>dollars is being spent on an contest of one-upmanship that will have
>absolutely zero practical benefit to mankind (even if it's spectacularly
>successful beyond imagination)?
>
>[returns]
>
>Oo sat-nav
... plus an immeasurable number of side inventions that affect our daily lives ...
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/spinoffs2.shtml
>[heads back to 1980]
>
>Jokes aside, doesn't anybody else find it ridiculous that all this time
>and money is being spent to connect up companies and universities when we
>already have the telephone, fax, and postal service in place; this will
>have absolutely zero practical benefit to mankind (even if it's
>spectacularly successful beyond imagination)?
>
>[returns]
>
>Um hello.
Heh. :)
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And lo on Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:33:21 +0100, Stephen <mcavoys_AT_aolDOT.com>
did spake, saying:
> "scott" <sco### [at] scottcom> wrote:
>> > To keep things in perspective, the total annual funding for
>> > cancer research in USA for the four most common cancers is around a
>> > billion dollars.
>>
>> What a waste, it would save far more lives if spent intelligently in
>> poorer countries.
>
> But then the spivs and speculators would not benefit. Have some sense of
> what is important and to whom. ;)
Exactly. What are you going to get out of the poor countries - nothing,
just a thank you very much and a step closer to world peace. Much better
off ploughing money into things rich people want like cancer cures, laser
eye surgery, and breast implants that feel just like the real thing;
besides some of these benefits are bound to trickle down to the level
where the poor people can afford them too.
[how my mind connects] How long did it take manufacturers to start
producing flesh-coloured sticking plasters that weren't just for white
people?
--
Phil Cook
--
I once tried to be apathetic, but I just couldn't be bothered
http://flipc.blogspot.com
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somebody <x### [at] ycom> wrote:
> Jokes aside, doesn't anybody else find it ridiculous that almost 10 billion
> dollars is being spent on an experiment that will have absolutely zero
> practical benefit to mankind (even if it's spectacularly successful beyond
> imagination)?
Yeah, they will try colliding a few hadrons, search for the Higgs boson,
and after that they will just shut down the whole thing when it's done.
You must be joking. Do you *seriously* think that they would spend that
much money and not have long-term plans of hundreds if not thousands of
different experiments of different fields of quantum mechanics, which
hopefully will help us understand better how the physical world works,
with the ultimate goal of developing new technology which will make
everyone's lives easier? Do you seriously think that investors would spend
that much money on something with no prospects of benefiting mankind?
I find it rather ironic that you are writing this on a computer and
clearly haven't even stopped to think how exactly science and technology
was developed so much that you are able to write that on a computer for
people around the world to see.
Just as one example: Exactly how do you think they discovered the
properties of semiconductors and transistors?
How do you think the world would be today if they had simply thought
"this is a useless waste of money, let's use the money on something
more useful"?
--
- Warp
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