Hacker News Reader

If we follow Pareto principle, then it doesn't make sense to optimize spendings that are close to zero if compared with something like military spendings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

Even if string theory is just pure math with no base in reality, it still can be useful (any math domain for that matter).

View on HN

I don't think the spending is really a problem, but possibly the many work-hours of brilliant minds that might be more fruitfully employed working on different problems.

Let's not pick on the LHC for that. How many gobsmackingly brilliant engineer-hours have gone into optimizing ad targeting or fine-tuning purchase attribution?

Not to mention, the LHC is responsible for a lot of innovation in it's own right, just in terms of hardware, software, etc.

The bigger picture is that only so many resources are going to be devoted to researching fundamental physics (both money and hours of work from human beings). If the majority of those resources are focused on a dead-end theory, then the opportunity cost is quite literally everything else.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com