The difference is we don't know how the EM drive is working (or are we sure it is working). The 3 projects in the parents flat out don't work, and we know why

The difference is we don't know how the EM drive is working (or are we sure it is working). The 3 projects in the parents flat out don't work, and we know why they don't work -- or at least know to what extent they will work. By the logic you have presented then we should be funding projects that wish to compress all 8 bit connotations into 7 bits. I can go make a nice video of how awesome it would be if we could do this. How it would change the world. Literally, if somebody could compress every 8 bit combination into 7 bits it would change the world overnight. Should we fund a product that advertises it could do this with a nice video and a website?