Three Roads To Quantum Gravity

208 THREE ROADS TO QUANTUM GRAVITY
edge of science to the public is discovering how many people
out there care whether we succeed or fail in our work.
Without this feedback there is a danger of becoming stale
and complacent, and seeing our contributions only in terms of
the narrow criteria of academic success. To avoid this we
have to keep alive the feeling that our work brings us into
contact with something true about nature. Many young
scientists have this feeling, but in today's competitive
academic environment it is not easy to maintain it over a
lifetime of research. There is perhaps no better way to
rekindle this feeling than to communicate with people who
bring to the conversation nothing more than a strong desire to
learn.
The second reason why we depend on the public for
support is that most of us produce nothing but this work.
Since we have nothing to sell, we depend on the generosity of
society to support our research. This kind of research is
inexpensive, compared with medical research or experimental
elementary particle physics, but this does not make it
secure. The present-day political and bureaucratic environment
in which science ®nds itself favours big, expensive
science ± projects that bring in the level of funding that boosts
the careers of those who make the decisions about which
kinds of science get supported. Nor is it easy for responsible
people to commit funds to a high-risk ®eld like quantum
gravity, which has so far no experimental support to show for
it. Finally, the politics of the academy acts to decrease rather
than increase the variety of approaches to any problem. As
more positions become earmarked for large projects and
established research programs, there are correspondingly
fewer positions available for young people investigating
their own ideas. This has unfortunately been the trend in
quantum gravity in recent years. This is not deliberate, but it
is a de®nite effect of the procedures by which funding of®cers
and deans measure success. Were it not for the principled
commitment of a few funding of®cers and a few departmental
heads and, not the least, a few private foundations, this kind
of fundamental, high-risk/high-payoff research would be in
danger of disappearing from the scene.