Technology, Good or Bad Overall?

[Anomalocaris]

Yet you have no idea, and couldn’t possibly have any idea, what positive impact may eventuate from any technology and progress in applied science could result from continued investment in smartphone technology and infrastructure.

This from the guy who cast aspersions at the idea of spinoff technology from the Apollo programme.

Boru

Yes, perhaps you are wishful enough to think there is a contradiction?

Apollo diverts research subsidy that would probably have focused on achieving something of commensurate anticipated direct practical benefit to something else with more appeal but less practical benefit, in the hopes that unanticipated practical benefit will incidentally result to cover the shortfall.   Apollo doesn’t necessarily represent  net change to resource devoted to research,  But a shift of resources from more direct and efficient application to more wishful and  less efficient application.

The proposal here wishes not to redirect subsidy from one research topic to another.   Rather it seeks to terminate a research project that would have paid for itself from its own results.   So its termination represents not a shift of resource applied to research, but a net deduction in resources applied to research.