That's Great, But What Do We DO With It?

While enjoying my coffee and perusing through Nature this fine morning, my mind sort of went off on a tangent on what has become a bit of a pet peeve of mine. Let's start from the beginning...

A couple of years ago, I was listening to an episode of Talk With the Nation: Science Friday in which Ira Flatow, with whom I am more than a little endeared, was speaking with one of the folks from CERN about the construction and future studies of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It was a great interview and it left me feeling very excited about the LHC coming online, even though it wasn't scheduled to happen for many months. As always, Ira took phone calls from listeners. One caller asked something along the lines of, 'that sounds great, but what's the potential application for this?' The physicist from CERN was polite (much moreso than I would've been) in explaining that the LHC was a device built for discovery; for basic science, not applied science. The information gathered from the LHC's experiments had no direct application, but unforeseen applications and benefits could arise as a result. Oh yeah, and don't forget about uncovering the mysteries of the universe. That important too, I guess.

In general, the question 'what are the applications for this?' roughly translates into 'how will this benefit me?' I wanted the CERN physicist to say, "What do you mean applications? Did you not hear what I just said? I said Higgs boson, you fool. We're illuminating the inner workings of the universe and adding to the knowledge of the human race, not developing a new microwave oven." I know that's a little harsh, but sometimes the truth hurts.

I don't even do basic science. I do applied science, so I know that question shouldn't bother me, but it does. Why does everything have to have a direct application? Why does it always have to benefit everyone (and benefit them right away)? When did science become less about learning and discovery and all about making Average Joe's life a little easier? I know that applied science and engineering have their places in the world of science because I am, after all, an engineer, but I still feel a sense of wonder and excitement when I read about new scientific discoveries, or watch an episode of Nova, or see pictures of the LHC's massive detectors.

I just hope I'm not the only one.