Science research being wasted on trivial matters

Michael R. Stilley, Mesquite

Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2010 | 2:02 a.m.

Regarding the Los Angeles Times story, “Atomic weights of 10 elements to be altered,” published in Friday’s Las Vegas Sun:

In a world where the common cold cannot be cured, the cause and cure for cancer elude us, and drug companies produce medications whose side effects are often worse than the disease, it is comforting to know that the scientific community (the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights) is working on far more serious matters.

This group of scientists and chemists has at long last found a way, through the alteration of atomic weights, to stop those evil counterfeiters who attempt to pass off Indonesian or Chinese honey as high-grade New Zealand honey.

Additionally, imagine the countless lives this ability will save. Not to mention those dastardly truckers who are bringing orange juice concentrate to Kansas City and mixing it with (Gasp!) water from Kansas City and passing it off as fresh juice.

Were it not for this dedicated, overworked and underpaid group of scientists, death and destruction would surely run rampant. I cannot imagine how this amazing discovery didn’t make national headlines.

Of course, there are real-world issues that benefit from this vast reservoir of knowledge. They can nail baseball players who sneak steroids (who really cares?), detect counterfeit food (how do you counterfeit a Brussels sprout?) or trace pollutants in rivers (if so, why are there still pollutants in the water?).

I would say “what a waste of intelligence” but that would not be true. It is a mismanagement of intelligence and funding due to a lack of caring for the real and pressing ills of humanity.