A recent tweet by user bender871 has ignited discussion regarding the efficacy and impact of the post-World War II government science funding system, asserting that while it increased research quantity, it simultaneously diminished quality. The tweet further claimed that scientific progress since 1950 has been limited to "refinements and deployments of fundamental physics known in 1950," and that major theoretical challenges, such as the incompatibility of general relativity and quantum mechanics, remain unresolved.
The modern federal science funding apparatus in the United States largely originated from Vannevar Bush's 1945 report, "Science: The Endless Frontier." This framework led to a significant increase in government support for university research, laying the groundwork for the U.S. to become a global leader in scientific and technological innovation. While concerns about the balance between basic and applied research, and the long-term impact of funding trends, have been raised over time, the initial post-war investment is widely credited with fostering an environment of unprecedented scientific growth and numerous technological advancements.
Contrary to the assertion that fundamental physics discoveries ceased around 1950, the latter half of the 20th century and the early 21st century have witnessed a remarkable series of breakthroughs. Key developments include the confirmation of the Standard Model of particle physics, with the discovery of particles like the J/psi meson in 1974 and the Higgs boson in 2012. The understanding of the universe has been revolutionized by discoveries such as neutrino oscillations, indicating that neutrinos have mass, and the accelerating expansion of the universe, attributed to dark energy. More recently, the direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015 and the first imaging of a black hole's event horizon have opened new windows into cosmic phenomena.
The challenge of unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics indeed remains a central, unresolved problem in theoretical physics. These two pillars of modern physics, while incredibly successful in their respective domains, are fundamentally incompatible. General relativity describes gravity and the large-scale structure of the universe, while quantum mechanics governs the subatomic world. However, this is an area of intense and ongoing research, not a static, abandoned problem. Recent efforts, such as those by Professor Jonathan Oppenheim's group at University College London, are exploring new theoretical frameworks that aim to reconcile these theories, sometimes by challenging long-held assumptions about the nature of spacetime or quantum theory itself. This continuous pursuit highlights the dynamic nature of fundamental physics research.