Steven Weinberg, who won the 1979 Nobel Prize in physics,
called on Americans to support research and big science instead of
consumer electronics and gadgets.Weinberg said that rather than
shift money from other important projects, such as maintaining
infrastructure, securing the country's ports, and improving
Internet access, health care, and conditions in prisons the United
States should raise taxes.It's to learn about the laws of nature.
He coined the term Big Science to describe the large-scale
approaches that were needed to develop modern nuclear
technologies.
Weinberg was not only describing a new form of scientific
research; his concept was an expression of nostalgia for “Little
Science,” a world of independent, individual researchers free to
work alone or with graduate students on problems of their own
choosing.