From the Congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, April 17, 1969, regarding the justification for funding the then unbuilt Fermilab:
Senator John Pastore: Is there anything connected with the hopes of this accelerator that in any way involves the security of the country?
Robert Wilson: No sir, I don't believe so.
Pastore: Nothing at all?
Wilson: Nothing at all.
Pastore: It has no value in that respect?
Wilson: It has only to do with the respect with which we regard one another, the dignity of men, our love of culture. It has to do with: Are we good painters, good sculptors, great poets? I mean all the things we really venerate in our country and are patriotic about. It has nothing to do directly with defending our country except to make it worth defending.
3 comments:
I didn't quite understand this one! I may be wrong but the last comment has a strong right-wing, nationalistic flavour to it OR I have missed the point completely!
I doubt I could say it in a more eloquent manner than the scientist did.
The pursuit of knowledge with the aid of science is one of the things that makes the culture of a people worth preserving and consequently, worth defending.
Though the scientist was talking about the culture of one particular nation, it holds true for all nations individually and for all of humankind.
The scientist's point was that the pursuit of knowledge is an end in itself which doesn't need to be justified with what the applications of that knowledge might be.
Aah now I get it... I got confused - I thought it was about some nuclear bomb or something... silly me!
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