Physicists go nuclear with online protest at funding cuts

I bet they're under great pressure...

It must weigh heavily on their shoulders.

The one with the Caffeine molocule embroidered on the back, please.

Physics is Elitist Nonsense . . .

. . . and therefore no self-respecting party of the people would dream of supporting it. The revolution takes a step further toward completion by cutting another lifeline feeding oxygen to the so-called intellectual community. Once the boffins are wholly unemployed, we can round them up on charges of economic parasitism and send them off for thought reform. All hail the Dear Maximum Leader!

As a bonus to this rantlet, a reminder that education is not the same as training. You can train monkeys, but you can't educate them. Keep this meme in your pocket ready for the next discussion of schools, schooling, IT training, and similar topics.

Yes, I have a license allowing me to use the word "meme".

Great

Another petition about soemthing important Downing Street will ignore. Look at Iraq: millions of people protested, but they were...ignored. Well, I'm screwed...I want to go into Astrophysics...looks like the US beckons...

Knowledge Economy

Whoever coined this term, and the people who seek to implement this "economy" should be shot.

If countries do not produce hard goods, maximize natural resources, etc... they are doomed. Only natural resources and agriculture create money, everything else just juggles existing money around.

I think Paul (above) has got it right - 3rd world here we come.

Wish them all the best

The Prime Minister spent plenty of time mouthing off about the knowledge economy and research & development when he was Chancellor, isn't about time to prove his commitment? This is something that can improve our lives and future generations in this country.

The UK government raises more than £500 billion in taxes and seems quite happy to lose billions on ridiculously complex tax credits, unworkable IT systems, ID databases, etc., isn't £80m in comparison something of a rounding error?

Actually why doesn't the government remove all the complexity in the tax system? Not only would nearly all of the over-payments cease (there's a big chunk of money that could be spent on science) but the average person wouldn't need to hire a tax accountant to fill out their tax form? Also neatly removing the tax avoidance schemes that make use of all the loop holes that result from such a complex system?

Ahh, I know, it would make to too clear how much everyone is paying in tax to fund them and their gold plated pensions...

Re: 3rd World here we come

Why should Gordon care? He'll be long gone, living it up with his mate Tony on various boards of large multinationals before this decision has any effect. That's the flaw in democracy - the people who fuck things up are very rarely around long enough to pay for their mistakes.

Bring back "Math is hard" Brabe

It can be the new government mascot

Imitation of G. W. Bush ?

According to this paper in the New York Times,

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/science/05spac.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

this year the Stanford Linear Accelarator will lay of 120 workers in a couple

of weeks and the Fermilab will lay off 10% of its staff.

The Chicago Tribune also indicates that Argonne National Laboratory should

also experience a budget cut:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sun_argonne_0120jan20,0,1456861.story

There was an interesting take by Craig Barrett on this in the San Francisco

Chronicle:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/20/EDFDUHP1I.DTL&hw=Fermilab&sn=001&sc=1000

Is the idea behind the cuts in the UK that if G. W. Bush does something then

its is necessarily a good thing ?

better....

yup, its better to spend that 80 million blowing up people in Iraq...oh wait, wasn't it physics that developed the weapons you use for doing that? better reconsider then...

Easy way to get the $$$/£££

Just call it "Global Warming Physics". The money will come flowing in.

Gotta go...

@3x2

What has physics done?

Electronics everywhere, radio, microwaves, (more) efficient cars, light bulbs (all types), electricity generation and electric motors, weapon systems... do you want me to go on?

Remember, electronic engineering, mechanics, ballistics, fluid flow, advanced materials - in fact almost all science based aspect of our lives are affected by physics based research. Science subjects also overlap, so what looks like chemistry, biology or engineering often involves physics as well.

Anyway, it is not just physics that is affected by this funding cut.

Another use for the money

We need that money to pay for Teenage mothers and put beer on the table of the unemployed, look science will just have to take second place.

@Anonymous Coward

post-grad positions might not be getting slashed in an obvious way, but there'll be less up for grabs in 2008/2009 - perhaps they're beginning to wish they hadn't made the decision to up the standard phd funding from 3 to 4 years!

But my phd for one is going to be impacted directly in the next few weeks - with STFC dilly dallying about where to save money they're leaving us sans electricity for our collaborations supercomputer. When funding was applied for we thought 'they'd not see themselves embarrassed by not supporting a project they've spent so much on' but after the gemini N and ILC cuts we're moving towards the pessimistic side.

Frankly, putting idiotic civil servants with no science background in positions of power over where funding goes basically means money goes into the media friendly but not particularly ground breaking physics (who gives a f**k about diamond - what's wrong with the ESRF!!)

(<- me hanging up my white coat and leaving academia)

Good riddence, new ideas needed

Particle physics has become expensive atom smashing. The major breakthroughs were done with pen+paper+genius not with a particle accelerator.

Astronomy, geez how many years can you milk the same theories for research money?

They don't teach genius in University, they teach status quo, and as long as there is a huge well funded science community there to keep the status quo, they naturally disuade fresh thinking.

Cutting edge research was never a career choice.

And the UK

becomes a nation of shoe salesmen...

Sort it out Brown you tosser!

1st Law of Gormless Brown

First law - We shall take most of your money from you.

Second law - We shall give the money to somebody else.

Third law - We will not react to your complaints, you toothless old dogs.

@ meh

Agreed, but who will pay for the newspapers or the broadband fees to be able to read the stories?

Come to think of it, after all the teachers, doctors, nurses, boffins and literate people have been killed by yobs or moved away to Australia or New Zealand, who will be left who can read?

Paris Hilton, seems to be doing alright under the circumstances.

@Paul Buxton

Won't work unless Brown plans on selling the armed forces to BAE and skimming off the top whilst they hire the armed forces out to train up military juntas and dictators etc for the US hawks to bomb.

Well it's not rocket science is it

I mean, if you overspend that much on your project budget during the year don't be surprised when you can't afford the boring stuff... like the research itself... sigh...