Re: how to judge creative ideas

["John S. Denker" <jsd@MONMOUTH.COM>]

Hugh Haskell wrote:
> ... in the case of the huge
> projects, like Fermilab, or the HST, or many of the others, if not
> the taxpayers, then who?

That begs the question of _whether_ the HST is worth
paying for, no matter who pays.  It is the consensus
of the professional astronomers I've spoken with that
the HST was a boondoggle that defies rational explanation.
I'm told that with the exception of astrometry,
everything the HST does could have been done in other
ways at a fraction of the cost.

Note that we don't even need to discuss the question
of whether astronomy in general is worthwhile -- no
matter what value you place on the product, obtaining
the product in a wasteful way is deplorable.

As for Fermilab, the less-subtle question applies.
It is open to question how badly we need to know
the mass of the top quark.  Sure, it's nice to know,
but is it worth billions of dollars?  What's the hurry?
Is the top quark going to cure cancer?  Is it going
to win the war on terrorism?  Is it going to provide
renewable energy?  Is it going to bring joy to anyone
but a small band of specialists?