My Opinion

 

Is it worth all the money? Is it really worth $6 billion dollars to build a bigger, better "atom smasher?"

My research has shown me all the costs involved in building and maintaining a particle accelerator, and from growing up I know where all that money could go; education, medical research, social programs, etc. But, I still believe that the search to understand the unknown is one worth the money it demands.

The desire to understand the unknown pushes/forces society to move forward. It causes people to think in ways they didn't, and wouldn't; investigate and build things you would think are impossible to build. The need for new technologies, pushes engineers and technicians to new levels. Creating and building things that in years to come will possibly be used by the average american everyday. The world wide wed is a perfect example. You wouldn't be viewing this if it wasn't for the need for scientists to be able to communicate easily all over the world.

Many medical procedures have been developed from scientific advances in particle physics, such as, x-rays and MRI's. Now maybe we eventually would have figure something similarly out, but in medicine, if it works, sooner is better.

As to problems with national security due to working with foreign nations. Breaches in national security come because we don't trust other nations and they don't trust us. By working together we can learn what each other is doing and therefore have less to worry about. Each nation can help the other towards a common scientific goal, and along the way possible teach their governments to trust each other a bit more.

In the end a society that is so consumed with present issues and doesn't respect the need to investigate the unknown, is a society that is putting limits on where it can go and what it can do.

 

 

 

Home	How it Works	My Opinion
History	Social Thoughts	Bibliography