I try to think in terms of that which is not seen. What are the technologies that would be developed by the same minds, were they not directed toward military p

I try to think in terms of that which is not seen. What are the technologies that would be developed by the same minds, were they not directed toward military projects? The same is true of the finance sector. How many brilliant minds are toiling away to generate alpha for the investors, when they could be unleashed in other more productive sectors of society? It's invalid to claim that "X beneficial technology wouldn't have been invented if not for Y war or Z program." Rather, military spending might shift when a technology was demanded by the market. And again, it diverts brilliant minds to one thing, when they could have done something else (that which is not seen) for society. The other angle is yes, this is awesome tech! But it could not compete in the market, since it is entirely impractical. It only exists because it serves the demands of a program manager at $AGENCY with tax money to spend.