Quote Originally Posted by Sasaki Kojiro View Post
You don't always know what the end is going to be. Sometimes knowledge is just knowledge and lays unused for 50 years, then becomes useful. How much of our current technology relies on an understanding of fundamental physics?
I know that not all knowledge is immidiately useful, such is obvious, but your example of Physics is a very bad one, as the practical applications are immidiately apparent and, in any case, Newton had a clear purpose, to demonstrate the underlying order of the Universe created by God.

"was a complete waste of money" --> they haven't packed up their bags and left it though...
It's a glorified experiement to try to find a theoretical "God partical" that has failed to materialise, with a side order of, "may destroy the planet". The fact that they haven't abandoned it means nothing with regard to it's utility, rather it points to a lot of people not wanting to look like fools and be out of work.