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I don’t think it’s pure curiosity. Maybe physicists are driven by passion, but everybody understands that new physics has historically unlocked a lot of new tec

I don’t think it’s pure curiosity. Maybe physicists are driven by passion, but everybody understands that new physics has historically unlocked a lot of new technology. I also don’t think that the public really has much of a say in what gets tax payer funding. Governments are just bureaucratic behemoths and once they start paying for something, they can almost never find an acceptable way to stop. Additionally I’ve never met a tax funding recipient that was grateful to be getting it, if anything the perspective that they should be entitled to even more is a lot more common.

robwwilliams 2y ago
Most researcher who I know share my attitude. I am extremely grateful for the support I have gotten from NIH, NSF, Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, and the State of Tennessee for research support in experimental precision medicine and health care. I recognize this support as a “luxury” made possible by a wealthy and progressive American society that wants great science and progress with the potential to improve the quality and duration of healthy lives.
- AmericanChopper 2y ago
  Having worked with a large number of researchers, this wasn’t my experience at all. A very common moan to hear was that they were underpaid, underfunded, and that if only the public was smart enough to understand the value of their work, then those problems would be immediately solved. This vague contempt for the public that funded them also seemed to be rather disconnected from any reasonable assessment of how valuable their work actually was.