Comments on: 2008 is Looking Bleak

By: 61 Nobel Laureates can’t be wrong | Cosmic Variance

61 Nobel Laureates can’t be wrong | Cosmic Variance — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 01:04:19 +0000

[...] course, there has been plenty of evidence for the decline of the scientific enterprise in the US (science funding issues, The Gathering Storm, the politicization of science). Eight years of Bush have not been kind to [...]

By: Andy

Andy — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 23:59:02 +0000

We are going to be in such a huge heap of debt it won’t really matter as much as we would like it to.

The Gleam Team
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By: Obama Talks Sense about NASA | Cosmic Variance

Obama Talks Sense about NASA | Cosmic Variance — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 21:04:03 +0000

[...] Moon/Mars initiative (despite public apathy). But the situation is not hopeless. The way we fund science in this country is completely irrational, starting up a ten-year project one year and canceling it [...]

By: Lawrence B. Crowell

Lawrence B. Crowell — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:32:43 +0000

The material benefits of science are somewhat questionable in a way. Consider that years of communications and computer technology has lead to millions of people wasting hours of time text messaging trite things on cell phones and internet porn. In some ways technology actually makes most people more dumb, rather than the promise it would make us smarter. People sitting around watching TV comes to mind, which means they do less talking to each other or reading. Old fashioned skills, since supplanted by technologies, required that people learn a range of capabilities. I would suggest that a person living in an indigenous “hunting and gathering” culture actually uses their brains more than your average American. Many people can go through life knowing very little, except all that is required to sell something.

We do particle physics because we, or should we say some of us, want to know about the foundations of the universe we exist in. Exploring these questions and maybe getting a few answers elevates us some small step above absurdism.

Lawrence B. Crowell

By: LB

LB — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 16:13:48 +0000

It’s humorous that the US is somehow in irreversible decline according to many of the persons commenting on this thread. The fact of the matter is that many, many scientists from the EU come to the US because they can’t find satisfactory employment in the stagnant economies of their home countries. The US is far from perfect in many ways, but it will continue to be the leader both in scientific research and commercial application of that research for the forseeable future.

By: Make the World Better ... For Science! | Cosmic Variance

Make the World Better ... For Science! | Cosmic Variance — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 00:46:53 +0000

[...] which you can write to your representatives in Congress to voice your displeasure concerning the unexpected budget cuts that have decimated U.S. physics, particle physics and fusion research especially. As APS President Arthur Bienenstock writes: [...]

By: Count Iblis

Count Iblis — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:53:39 +0000

Frog Leg,

That’s an unfair demand, because almost nothing we do has any benefits to society anyway. Also, as Samuel Beckett points out in his “Waiting for Godot”, the existence of our society is pointless.

So, given that our lives are meaningless anyway, why not do some particle physics while we live out our lives?

By: Frog Leg

Frog Leg — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 14:29:48 +0000

So how can particle physics show its usefulness? Vague claims of, “science is the future–you defund this, you’re killing the future” will not work. Benefits from 40 or 80 year old science will not work. What benefit can society see from particle physics done in the last 20 years?

By: A Dour Year for Physics » Undress Me Robot

A Dour Year for Physics » Undress Me Robot — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 07:12:50 +0000

[...] is a big blow to fusion and high energy physics, both on a national and international level. As JoAnne at Cosmic Variance points out, pulling out of ITER is not without its consequences: Let me remind you that ITER is the [...]

By: After the budget debacle « Collider Blog

After the budget debacle « Collider Blog — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 00:01:00 +0000

[...] Michael Schmitt Several bloggers have detailed the budget disaster of December 2007 (for example, Joanne Hewett, Peter Woit and Andrey Petrov), so I will not try to do the same. Furthermore, it is tempting to [...]