Quote:
Originally Posted by kennyc
Ah but who is to decide? I agree there are issues but I disagree with you getting to choose.  Many maligned the space program saying it had no use, no benefit to humanity but look around you now at all that resulted from it -- the computer you are typing on, teflon and probably a million more things that slip my mind.
Basic research is important and must be funded. The issues we face with healthcare, food, energy, environment are primarily a result of over-population. If that one issue were addressed we'd all be better off.
We are killing ourselves with our pro-creation just as bacterial colony or lemmings do.... |
I agree 100%, Kenny. There's never been a time in human history where "knowledge for the sake of knowledge" couldn't have been put on the back burner for more pressing needs and there never will be. The quest to understand the world of the unseen is a prime example. Why should anyone attempt to understand the basic building blocks of matter? What good could possibly come out of it? Unless, of course, you include all of modern electronics, communications, satellite and computer technology, all which we wouldn't have today had not a few dreamers toiled to discover the laws governing Quantum Mechanics. That's the thing about the quest for knowledge for its own sake; one can never predict where it will lead.
No doubt the first person who attempted to make fire and the first person to invent the wheel were told by their colleagues to stop screwing around and get on with the hunting and gathering because food was a more pressing concern.