4 ms·

The same argument said over and over again throughout history. Why spend effort on uncertain future outcomes when today's issues are most important?

• lostmsu 6y ago
  You don't know that. What if tomorrow physics can solve today's problems with nearly no effort?
  • ncmncm 6y ago
    What if tomorrow physics depend on funding not available because LHC2 ate the budget? Cf. "opportunity cost"
    • lostmsu 6y ago
      I did not say anything about LHC2 opportunity cost being better than no LHC2 for physics. I was giving a counterargument for specific flawed reasoning/question.
• pugworthy 6y ago
  It's a good argument, however I think it's pretty clear to a lot of people that today's issues (e.g., climate change) are indeed real and indeed important. But to your question of why to spend on them, it's because it's going to cost us a lot more (and not just money) down the line if we don't address it.