Starship Asterisk*

Ten areas in the sky were selected as “deep fields” that the Dark Energy Camera imaged several times during the survey, providing a glimpse of distant galaxies and helping determine their 3D distribution in the cosmos. (Credit: NSF/DES/NOIRLab/DOE/FNAL/AURA/Univ of Alaska, Anchorage)

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Large astronomical projects like the Dark Energy Survey and the James Webb Space Telescope provide innumerable benefits to society, like technological spin-offs, national prestige, and a way to satisfy our common human curiosity.

How are we supposed to judge the value of large scientific projects? With traditional projects the cost-benefit analysis is rather straightforward. We sink in a bunch of time and money into a project, and we judge the success of those projects based on how much money they make or how many benefits they provide to society.

But by their very nature large scientific projects don’t return any money on the investment. And they don’t have any immediate impact on society. So are they really worth it?

In a recent paper an Oxford economist argues that yes, large scientific projects are worth it. But we have to be very careful about how we measure that worth. ...

Put simply, science is good for us.

• arXiv > physics > arXiv:2305.17982 > 29 May 2023

bystander wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 4:48 pm The Hidden Benefits of Large Science Projects
Universe Today | Paul M. Sutter | 2023 Jun 16

Ten areas in the sky were selected as “deep fields” that the Dark Energy Camera imaged several times during the survey, providing a glimpse of distant galaxies and helping determine their 3D distribution in the cosmos. (Credit: NSF/DES/NOIRLab/DOE/FNAL/AURA/Univ of Alaska, Anchorage)

---

Large astronomical projects like the Dark Energy Survey and the James Webb Space Telescope provide innumerable benefits to society, like technological spin-offs, national prestige, and a way to satisfy our common human curiosity.

How are we supposed to judge the value of large scientific projects? With traditional projects the cost-benefit analysis is rather straightforward. We sink in a bunch of time and money into a project, and we judge the success of those projects based on how much money they make or how many benefits they provide to society.

But by their very nature large scientific projects don’t return any money on the investment. And they don’t have any immediate impact on society. So are they really worth it?

In a recent paper an Oxford economist argues that yes, large scientific projects are worth it. But we have to be very careful about how we measure that worth. ...

Put simply, science is good for us.

The Social Value of Dark Energy ~ Avner Offer

• arXiv > physics > arXiv:2305.17982 > 29 May 2023