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i watched a docu on the large hadron collider and the search for the higgs boson particle where they asked one of the scientists a similar question. what do you

i watched a docu on the large hadron collider and the search for the higgs boson particle where they asked one of the scientists a similar question. what do you expect to gain monitarily from that xBillion dollars we just spent on this? his reply was 'i don't know'. he went on to give the example of how when radio waves were first discovered nobody called them 'radio waves' because no one had thought to use them in that way yet. I think a lot of exploritory science can be framed this way. we do it to get a better understanding of the world we live in.

corin_ 12y ago
Reminds me of a great conversation in The West Wing (one of the best written shows ever made, in my opinion). A senator (ENLOW) has put an anonymous hold on building a supercollider, the white house deputy communications director (SAM) wants to help his old professor (MILLGATE) get the budget approved for it, and this is near the end of the episode: ENLOW I'm a Democrat, Sam. How's a 20 billion dollar astronomy lecture gonna help the President get elected? SAM It won't. "We've discovered a seamless, intellectual framework for the universe" isn't a good 30-second spot. ENLOW If only we could only say what benefit this thing has, but no one's been able to do that. MILLGATE That's because great achievement has no road map. The X-ray's pretty good. So is penicillin. Neither were discovered with a practical objective in mind. I mean, when the electron was discovered in 1897, it was useless. And now, we have an entire world run by electronics. Haydn and Mozart never studied the classics. They couldn't. They invented them. SAM Discovery. MILLGATE What? SAM That's the thing that you were... Discovery is what. That's what this is used for. It's for discovery. (I tried to find a clip, because Sorkin's writing is even more beautiful when acted by Rob Lowe.. but can't on YouTube.)
- character0 12y ago
  A similarly great West Wing clip about exploration re: Mars mission. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHGK96-WixU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHGK96-WixU "The history of man is hung on the timeline of exploration and this is what's next."
  - corin_ 12y ago
    Heh, watched that when looking for the scene I pasted, as I couldn't remember which of those "what's the point of this science" episodes was the one with the quote I wanted - what an amazing show. Need to rewatch again soon.

corin_ 12y ago

Reminds me of a great conversation in The West Wing (one of the best written shows ever made, in my opinion). A senator (ENLOW) has put an anonymous hold on building a supercollider, the white house deputy communications director (SAM) wants to help his old professor (MILLGATE) get the budget approved for it, and this is near the end of the episode: ENLOW I'm a Democrat, Sam. How's a 20 billion dollar astronomy lecture gonna help the President get elected? SAM It won't. "We've discovered a seamless, intellectual framework for the universe" isn't a good 30-second spot. ENLOW If only we could only say what benefit this thing has, but no one's been able to do that. MILLGATE That's because great achievement has no road map. The X-ray's pretty good. So is penicillin. Neither were discovered with a practical objective in mind. I mean, when the electron was discovered in 1897, it was useless. And now, we have an entire world run by electronics. Haydn and Mozart never studied the classics. They couldn't. They invented them. SAM Discovery. MILLGATE What? SAM That's the thing that you were... Discovery is what. That's what this is used for. It's for discovery. (I tried to find a clip, because Sorkin's writing is even more beautiful when acted by Rob Lowe.. but can't on YouTube.)

character0 12y ago
A similarly great West Wing clip about exploration re: Mars mission. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHGK96-WixU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHGK96-WixU "The history of man is hung on the timeline of exploration and this is what's next."
- corin_ 12y ago
  Heh, watched that when looking for the scene I pasted, as I couldn't remember which of those "what's the point of this science" episodes was the one with the quote I wanted - what an amazing show. Need to rewatch again soon.