To my way of thinking, it's a probability problem, pure and simple: Which lines of research are most likely to lead to important advancements? And for that you have to rely on the "scientific establishment" to help you decide. Unfortunately or not, everyone else gets short changed.
"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction."
[Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872]
To my way of thinking, it's a probability problem, pure and simple: Which lines of research are most likely to lead to important advancements? And for that you have to rely on the "scientific establishment" to help you decide. Unfortunately or not, everyone else gets short changed.
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the presumption here is that current high energy fusion research is likely to lead to important advancements.
But scratch any high energy fusion researchers and they'll all ssay they at least 20 years off from anything.
on that face of it that looks like slim probabilities for the "respectable" line of research. also that's a lot of dog years in advace for the possibility of something.
so I see no harm in the feds keeping their options open.