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Who decides what we spend our wealth on?
We spend billions on sport and the olympic games. We spend billions on entertainment and the cinema. We spend billions on gambling. We spend billions on wars. Sum total, probably in the trillions.
Yet, we don't seem to be able to eliminate poverty, disease and crimes against humanity.
The amount spent on theoretical studies is insignificant to that spent by wealthier populations in their quest to entertain themselves and defend their lot. Applied scientific studies are often directed to improving technology and productivity and require more funding due to experimental costs. Engineering innovations depend on mathematics and science. The end motive for studies may be intellectual recognition/satisfaction for the researcher but for the funder will most likely be immediate or long term monetary gain or power.
The lines between theoretical and practical mathematics or physics have tended to blur as purely theoretical studies more often find practical application. Complex numbers eventually found application in applied physics e.g. electronics. The concept of a laser was predicted theoretically but took many years to physically produce.
Our concepts about the real world are either deduced from or confirmed by observation. Because we do not fully understand our world, scientists hypothesize and then make theoretical predictions. They must then wait until an observation or designed experiment tells them it is either true or false. Who is to say what mathematician or scientist has a monopoly on the truth? Any particular line of research may lead to some previously unknown but now revolutionary theory e.g. Einstein's SR and GR.
In the end, theory is sorted by its truth and application. Those areas of research which add to the total picture will gain funding and support, those areas which do not reflect the real world will fade away to oblivion. Where money is wasted, complaints will be made. This is an evolving process, the result of man's quest to both understand and profit from the Universe he lives in.
Regards, Rob.
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