What an absurd comment. Newtonian physics seemed sufficient and special and general relativity seemed academic until we applied them both to build GPS. You stand on the giant shoulders of theoretical physicists from the moment you open your eyes every morning. How dare you deny them any available tool to continue to keep you in the style to which you've become accustomed.
All the applied research and aerospace programs you're referring to would not have been possible without the strong foundation that theoretical research provided.
Think you're going to build a star drive by continuing to throw matter in the opposite direction as fast as you can? Some hard working theorist who you deem to be too philosophical could be coming up with the fundamental laws of nature that we need to go to the stars if guys like you hadn't denied funding for the SSC.
> How dare you deny them any available tool to continue to keep you in the style to which you've become accustomed.
Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be pushed back by scientists with particle accelerators. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for the funding, and you curse the Higgs boson. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That the funding's expense, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while nerdy and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me pushing on that wall, you need me pushing on that wall. We use words like spin, fermions, color. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent figuring out something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very theory that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a textbook, and learn some theory. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
All the applied research and aerospace programs you're referring to would not have been possible without the strong foundation that theoretical research provided.
Think you're going to build a star drive by continuing to throw matter in the opposite direction as fast as you can? Some hard working theorist who you deem to be too philosophical could be coming up with the fundamental laws of nature that we need to go to the stars if guys like you hadn't denied funding for the SSC.