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"I can see the point of biology because it helps us understand diseases and I can see the point of chemistry because it can give us new medicines and stuff. But what's the point of physics?" (Overheard conversation, resulting in a badly bitten tongue as I restrained myself from shouting "YOU MORON!")
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Posted by JT on 18 Jan 2010.
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I should probably point out that the person who said this was not ignorant about what physics is, but believes it to be worthless. That doesn't really come across in the quote.
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Posted by JT on 21 Jan 2010.
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Well, he's stupid for thinking humanity can't benefit from physics in some manner. Though I do wonder if those billions of dollars they spent on the Large Hadron Collider wouldn't have been better spent helping the poor or something like that.
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Posted by Socky on 30 Jan 2010.
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By building things like the LHC, we increase our knowledge of physics. By achieving a certain level of mastery of physics, we would want for and lack nothing - so the LHC could benefit the poor enormously.
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Posted by JT on 30 Jan 2010.
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Well, yes. But I kinda doubt the LHC will result in any discoveries that will be of any practical use to us somewhere in the near future. I mean, if they need billions of dollars just to build something that makes these protons collide with sufficiently high collision energies, I don't think we're gonna see any economically feasible applications anytime soon.
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Posted by Socky on 30 Jan 2010.
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When someone first rubbed two sticks together and created fire it didn't immediately lead to metal smelting - but we've benefited from it all the same. Some things take a long time, but they're still worth doing.
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Posted by JT on 30 Jan 2010.
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I don't deny its usefulness in the long run. I just think with millions of people dying from the consequences of poverty each year, the issue of poverty is a more urgent matter.
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Posted by Socky on 30 Jan 2010.
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If we thought that way, we'd just continue spending to alleviate poverty in the short term rather than striving to find long-term, even permanent solutions.
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Posted by JT on 30 Jan 2010.
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So you think humanity is as of yet incapable of raising these people's standards of living to ethically acceptable levels (i.e. not millions of people dying due to lack of clean water, nutrition, health care, clothing, shelter etc.), because we haven't yet figured out how reality exactly works, in hopes of ever being able to actively control it?
If you think we shouldn't be concerned with people lacking basic human needs in the present, as long as we concentrate on (a vague promise of) long-term solutions, do you think highly technological, future civilizations will even be concerned with the poor people that don't benefit from its scientific progress? I'd rather think they'd consider them to be uncivilized savages, and just about the least of their concerns.
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Posted by Socky on 30 Jan 2010.
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No, I didn't say that. I said that it would be a mistake to only provide short term relief at the expense of trying to find a cure. I didn't say we should concentrate only on the cure and not bother with the relief. We have a duty to do both IMO, whatever the financial cost.
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Posted by JT on 30 Jan 2010.
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That's exactly what I was trying to say. And I used that reasoning to state that it might have been better to postpone the LHC project in preference of the money being used to help solve the pressing issues that result from poverty.
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Posted by Socky on 30 Jan 2010.
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Crikey. That's got the be the largest amount of typing this site's ever seen in a single day. Steady on, you'll wear out the poor server! :)
Maybe there should be a mod option to move stuff to the forums?
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Posted by Wrongfellow on 30 Jan 2010.
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^ Good idea - not least of all because a whole load of discussion is likely to make the site look like some forum for real discussion, rather than the harmless frippery that it truly is.
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Posted by JT on 31 Jan 2010.
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Or maybe something more like a talk page?
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Posted by Socky on 31 Jan 2010.
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